Trunk 'N Treat -- Showing Kindness

 

"You are a Christian because somebody cared. 

Now it’s your turn.” Warren Wiersbe

  Do you remember trick or treating as a child? What was one of your favorite costumes? One of my favorite traditions as a child was buying a pumpkin and attempting to cut a face in it. Some have such great talent at that (I’m not one of them). To me, it’s a much better tradition than buying a plastic pre-made one at a store. There’s something fulfilling about a healthy “artistic”  opportunity to come up with something creative.

  This all reminds me of one of my favorite Christian Halloween stories. It seems that a woman had recently been baptized. One of her coworkers asked her what it was like to be a Christian. She was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer. But, then she looked up, she saw a jack-o’-lantern on the desk and answered, “It’s like being a pumpkin.” Her co-worker asked her to explain that one.

  “Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in, and washes off all the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all the other pumpkins. Then He cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from inside the pumpkin. He removes all those seeds and slime of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then God carves you a new smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all to see. It’s our choice to either stay outside and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and bright.

  I like that! One of my greatest memories from childhood was a friendship with a retired couple that lived across the road from our subdivision, the Jamesons. Like most kids at Halloween, we were looking for a few more houses to go Trick or Treating at. Someone had the idea of going across the road to the Jamesons. Now none of us knew the Jamesons but it was Halloween and we loved candy…and candy is a big motivator for a kid.

  They had a long driveway with a fence and gate, and their house set back probably 50 yards from that gate. Back then, I didn’t know anyone with a fenced-in yard with a gate. Their drive was surrounded by trees, so it was a bit spooky – but it was one more house that might have candy, so we decided to take the risk. I’m so glad that we did.

  Not only did they have treats for our gang of kids they welcomed us into their home…and a friendship with the neighborhood kids was born. They’d make special treats for the kids. Because they owned a huge parcel of property, Mr. Jameson would hook up his tractor to a wagon and load us all up for wagon rides, followed by ice cream floats back at their house. There never seemed to be a bad time to drop in at the Jameson’s. They were so kind and loving to children.   

  What a difference kindness makes! Kindness with no strings attached and expecting nothing in return. The Bible refers to kindness some 40 times. If anyone lived out kindness, it was the Lord Jesus. As believers, we are called to be Jesus in our world. That means that we’re commanded to be kind. It’s part of loving your neighbor as yourself.

  My mentor, Dr. Dave Cummins (for me “Dad” Cummins) often said, “Scott, I have never regretted being too kind” and neither have I. In a cold, harsh, often cruel world Christ-followers should first be known for being kind. Isn’t that what we see from the Cross? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”? Isn’t that what we see in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan – kindness? He was good because he was kind. 

  Our Trunk ‘N Treat is an opportunity for us to show kindness, often to complete strangers. We’re inviting our community to come to our place so that we can show Jesus’ kindness to them. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can demonstrate generosity just as God has shown to us. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can welcome them with a warm smile and a friendly face.

  It’s an opportunity to be kind to their children and grandchildren. Most of us don’t pay nearly the amount of attention when someone is kind to us as we do when someone is kind to our children and/or grandchildren. When someone goes the extra mile to be generous to them, to encourage them, to notice and compliment them – it gets our attention.

  We want this event to use it to show kindness to small businesses both within and outside of our church. It’s why we’ve invited Jacobs Smokehouse to bring their food truck. We want people to come get free treats from us and potentially buy food from them. Not only have they endured through Covid, but then the State closed the road to their business for repairs. It could have sunk them and resulted in them going out of business.

  At Grace, we want to be part of lending them a hand. Even if folk don’t buy food from them, it helps Jacobs Smokehouse with free advertising.

  Add to that, we have several small businesses both in and out of our church. We want to be kind to them by letting them decorate a vehicle that advertises their business as they give away candy.

  One of the core teachings of our church is that we can take any seasonal celebration and use it as an opportunity to build bridges of kindness and be an opportunity to share the gospel. It might seem that one of the more challenging holidays to apply that teaching is Halloween, yet in reality, it’s one of the easiest ones.

  First, it’s one of the few times that the neighbors and community are coming to us. Then, this is the one time of year when people are thinking about the afterlife, of life after death. Granted the secular view of this is distorted, yet it’s an opportunity to build a bridge to a discussion about the reality that we are eternally existing souls.

  Most people believe they will live forever, but the question is, if we are going to live forever, what neighborhood will we live in? Halloween acknowledges that there is another life beyond the short one. Though people might make fun of it, they can’t help but wonder what truth there is to life beyond this one. Along with that is the almost universal belief or wish of an afterlife of light reunited with loved ones.

  Halloween gives us the opportunity to share why we believe that Jesus is the only Savior who conquered death and who can give us eternal life and peace, and a home in the neighborhood of joy if we trust Him as Savior.

  At a time when those outside the Church often think Christ-followers are against nearly everything, we want to share what we are for. We are for them! We are for God! We are for sharing the only hope this world has! We are for sharing that God loves them so much that He gave His very best for them, His only Son! And we want to be Jesus to them!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.