Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, November 3 and 4, 2023
Shelley and I grew up with different Halloween practices. I was raised on a farm a mile from town, and at least a mile from the nearest farmers in any direction. This meant that most rural parents didn’t bother with motoring their kiddoes from farm to farm with trick-or-treat baskets. Gas cost too much for so little, especially since these parents had been pinch-penny Great Depression kids. We got candy, but it arrived in bags from stores in town.
Shelley, on the other hand spent her childhood in a town (Juneau), and she and her father delighted in welcoming trick-or-treaters on The Night. Her dad, one of the town policemen, would josh with the kids, and once each group had clattered down the porch steps and scattered, he would keep a careful tally of their number.
These days, Shelley and I live on a longish cul-de-sac, and she keeps up the big-bowl-of-candy tradition. Since we arrived home a bit later than usual that evening, we missed what Shelley calls the “younger and cuter” treat-seekers, but she still managed to gather 40 tally-marks on her notecard.
The next morning, as I was heading out to get something from our car, I noticed the Snickers wrapper you see in the photo. I smiled, recognizing a kindred spirit. Here was a kid who for some reason decided not to delay its consumption, but ripped it open and gobbled it down. Do it now, said his alimentary canal, and he did.
Though you might not think it at first, the Bible has a lot to say about delay. When Lot’s family ran for their lives from Sodom’s destruction, Mrs. Lot paused, and looked longingly back. When God’s fiery-pillar wilderness presence urged the Israelites on toward Canaan, they let themselves be hindered for decades by idolatry and rebellion.
And He’s still urging rapid response from us. Jesus, speaking to the last of the Seven Churches (which some think refers to believers in our time), uses an urgent “guest at the door” metaphor.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 NKJV
Want to review how to respond to Him? Click the link below and read all the way through the verses you’ll find.