Tonight, on this Hallow’s Eve night, we venture out from our apartments dressed as Legos, Cheshire Cats, and Tobias Blue in search of sweets, but danger lurks around every corner. Goblins galore, wicked witches, and probably a few more of those creepy clowns are just a fraction of the fears we must face. Fortunately for us, we do not have to face these dangers alone. God has given us a special kind of ghost – a helper, if you will – to keep us safe in the midst of this crazy night. That’s right, I’m talking about the Holy Ghost. In order to best prepare us for Halloween this year, I thought it would be good to take a look at the differences between this Holy Ghost, also known as the Holy Spirit, and a regular ghost, so we know exactly what it is we have on our side.
1) The Holy Ghost is God. Regular ghosts are not God.
This may come as a shock to some, but it is critically important to know that the Holy Ghost is the only ghost that is also God. As part of the trinity, the Holy Ghost shares the status of God along with God the Father and Jesus. Regular ghosts, on the other hand, are not God. They are just ghosts.
2) The Holy Ghost is your friend. Regular ghosts are not.
The Holy Ghost was given to us by God in order to help us in our lives as we walk with God. He helps us to grow as Christians and to live a life that is pleasing to God. He comforts us and gives us peace when life is uneasy. He loves us, and wants what’s best for us. Regular ghosts do just the opposite. They often try to scare us and make us feel uneasy for no reason other than to disturb us. If you have to make friends with a ghost, it is in your best interests to befriend the Holy Ghost.
3) The Holy ghost is a person. Regular ghosts used to be people, but aren’t anymore.
Many people believe the Holy Ghost to be more of a spirit or a force, but the bible gives evidence that He is in fact a person. He is always referred to with the personal pronoun “he”, as opposed to being called an “it”. He is also given emotions and attributes that a force could not possess, such as the ability to be grieved and lied to, and that he has a will, intelligence, and is worthy of honor. He is also able to teach, guide, and empower us. While other ghosts may have some of these attributes, they cannot be people by the very fact that they are ghosts aka no longer alive. The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, is eternal and can never die.
4) Holy Ghost gives us power. Regular ghosts make us weak.
God gave us the Holy Ghost to give us the power to live a life pleasing to him, which is something we cannot do on our own. The Holy Ghost illuminates our minds to understand the things of God and gives us the power and will to fight against and prevail over our sins. He also empowers us with spiritual gifts, such as teaching, mercy, wisdom, and healing. In direct contrast to this empowerment, other ghosts try to make us weak. They work against us by instilling fear in us in hopes that we will not be able to function well. Thanks be to God that He has given us His Spirit, in which we can have courage and confidence to overcome all fear!
5) The Holy ghost is real. Regular ghosts are not.
Possibly the most important of all of the many differences between the Holy Ghost and regular ghosts is that the Holy Ghost is real, but other ghosts are not. The Holy Ghost is one of the key characters in all of scripture. He helps in the creation of the world, plays an active role in the lives of God’s people in the New and Old Testament, and lives within us as well, even today. You cannot deny the existence and power of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures and in our lives. Other ghosts, on the other hand, are not real at all. They are simply made up things created to scare us, having no more power than vampires or Frankenstein.
So, there you have it. As scary as the world can be, and especially on Halloween, we can always take faith that we have a helper and comforter in the Holy Ghost. So tonight as you roam the streets in search of treats, remember that the gift of the Spirit is the sweetest treat we can ever have!