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  • Tamela Sue Wies
    • May 15, 2018
    • 3 min read

A Holy Kiss?



1 Corinthians 16:20 "All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss."

Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth at this point but in all of his writings he tells the church 4 times to greet each other with a holy kiss. In the culture, at that time, it was customary to greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. Men to men and women to women. This "kiss" had no sexual connotations. It was a gesture often given out of respect but it could have meant you are special to me, I love you or in the case of Judas, a sign of betrayal. Kisses in the Bible had the power to encourage and the power to hurt, the power to strengthen and the power to murder. They could symbolize death or life depending on the circumstances. This greeting wasn't compulsory but encouraged.

What Paul was saying was that a kiss of greeting was customary and something that the culture practiced. It was an ordinary part of life and he was telling the Believers that if we are going to do this, let's make the action "holy". Let's take this action and sanctify it. Let's devote it to God and make it a genuine, endearing act of welcoming a brother or sister in Christ.

Now, in our culture, kissing on the cheek when we greet people is not common but there are other means of affection that are. I'm a hugger and when I run into or meet a fellow Believer or dear friend it is not out of the ordinary for me to hug them especially if I haven't seen them in a while. My husband will usually offer a handshake to those he comes in contact with as a means of saying, I care about you or respect you. I don't really think that Paul is insinuating that we kiss but what he is saying is let's make our gestures genuine. Let's take the culturally acceptable way of greeting people and make it sincere and endearing. Let's show people that we are what we say we are, Christians who set out to love one another as Christ loves us.

Paul was writing to the persecuted church who were exiles in a place where they were surrounded by unbelievers. He was trying to show them that it was important to greet each other not out of duty but with genuine love. Whether it be a fist bump, a handshake, a hug or even an endearing kiss, let's seek to do as Paul instructed the early church. Let's welcome each other in a genuine, unpretentious, loving way that lets our brothers and sisters in Christ know that our love for them is sincere and that we really do care. Who knows, it may cause others to take a second glance and long for all that our faith affords.

________________

Personalize this prayer.

Dear Lord,

Your love for me humbles and amazes me every time I think about it. I'm so undeserving of all that You've done in my heart and my life and I was thinking, how can I not reciprocate that love to others. Please allow me to see people through Your eyes. Open them and prepare my heart to genuine love like you unconditionally love me. Me, my and mine seem to always get in the way so I ask that You would help me to rid my life of selfishness and help me to focus on the needs of others. Help me to slow down and be intentionally aware of my environment so that I don't miss an opportunity to share Your love with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Freely I have received from You, so freely I give of my heart as a reflection of You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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