Originally posted Oct. 29, 2012
Blessings Friends,
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has been a Halloween tradition for as long as I can remember.
In fact, there aren’t many holidays that we don’t share with the Peanuts Gang. But this year, with the help of my six-year-old daughter, I gained a whole new appreciation good ole Charlie Brown.
The other day, as we were watching Lucy belittle poor Charlie Brown for the umpteenth time, my daughter asked me, “Why doesn’t Charlie Brown just tell those people to shut-up and leave him alone?”
Before I had a chance to think, the words were coming out. “Well, honey, Charlie Brown doesn’t treat people the way they treat him. The Bible tells us that Christians are not to repay evil with evil (Romans 12:17). That’s how Jesus was.”
She looked thoughtful. “Yeah,” she said lowly, “even though they killed Him.”
“That’s right,” I told her. “Even on the cross, Jesus asked God to forgive those who hurt Him.” She sighed and went back to the show.
Now, I was just as taken aback by this revelation as my daughter was. All my life I’d viewed Charlie Brown as kind of pathetic. Could Charles Schulz have intentionally identified Charlie Brown with Christ? I pondered this as I went about my work, but it didn’t end there.
I wandered back into the room as the “Gang” set out for tricks-or-treats. If you’re familiar with the show, you know that Charlie Brown got a little over-zealous with the scissors on his costume. You’ll also remember that, while the other kids got treats at each house, Charlie Brown always ended up with a rock.
Growing frustrated, my daughter turned to me and said, “Why are those grown-ups so be mean to that holey ghost!”
Forty years of watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and not once did it occur to me that Charlie Brown went treat-or-treating as The Holy Ghost! Out of the mouths of babes.
That got me thinking even more. The Holy Spirit does knock on everyone’s door. Even if we invite Him in, He doesn’t stop. I often hear His knock urging me to step out of my comfort zone and grow in my faith. The question is, what do I give Him when He knocks? The sweetness of obedience, or a hardened heart?
God’s grace and peace be yours,
Rebecca
