How to Love Your Neighbor at Halloween

Trying to trip Jesus up and “catch” Him speaking out against God’s law, the Sadducees asked Jesus what commandment was the most important. Jesus replied with these words recorded in Mark 12:30-31,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (NIV)

As the religious leaders often tried to twist the words of Jesus, so do many today, whether intentionally or not. So, then, what does this passage really mean? We know that those who have not been reconciled to God through Christ Jesus will spend eternity separated from Him in hell. Therefore, if we truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we will share Jesus with them in a caring and compassionate way.

As followers of Jesus, we are compelled to share the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus because we understand what Jesus has done for us! We are forgiven, have eternal life, and are called children of the most High King, so who wouldn’t want that for his fellow neighbor, too?

One of the most controversial topics in Christian culture is whether it’s biblical to participate in Halloween activities like trick-or-treating. Yet, we know that when something is not explicitly addressed in Scripture, like trick-or-treating, we can look to God’s Word for direction based on how He has called us to live.

Halloween has roots in ancient Celtic culture, but today in most communities, it’s a time when children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door, innocently asking for candy from their neighbors. Of course, we recognize that some groups take things to an evil level, but for the sake of this discussion, we’re speaking of the tradition of dressing up like superheroes and princesses and asking for candy in your neighborhood. 

Earlier this month, we talked about how significant community is in our Christian faith. In this season, we have an incredible opportunity to show our neighbors what it’s all about! How many times of the year do your neighbors come to your door? What a great opportunity to get to know them better, invite them to church, and even share Jesus with them!

So, what does it mean to love your neighbor? How do you love yourself? You feed, clothe, and shelter yourself. As a believer, you know that you have eternal life through your saving faith in Jesus Christ, so if we are going to love our neighbors as ourselves, we would want them to know Jesus, too, as well as help take care of any physical needs.

We encourage you to pray through what God asks you to do this season. Ask for opportunities to share Jesus with those around you. Be prayerful about who and how you interact with those coming door-to-door as you strive to represent Jesus in all your interactions. Love your neighbor as you love yourself and share the life-changing hope of Jesus Christ with them!

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.