Kisses
The late Princess Diana had millions of photos taken of her during her short, famous and ill-fated lifetime. One of the most touching ones was when her two sons, William and Harry, were with their father, Prince Charles on a state visit to Canada. Princess Di was parted from her boys for a couple of weeks and was due to meet them as their ship docked in Canada. The worlds press was there and many dignitaries were present to greet the Royal family. Princess Diana waited at the dockside until her boys were coming down the gang plank. Then she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. All of a sudden, she ran over to them, put her two arms around them both and smothered them in kisses. Her mother’s instinct kicked in and she didn’t care about protocol or anything else. All that mattered was letting her boys know how much she had missed them.
What is it about this mysterious, peculiar to earthling’s behaviour? Isn’t a kiss such a wonderful thing? It has an almost magical effect upon us. A mother’s kiss dries the tears of a crying child. A father’s kiss says, “I’m proud of you.” A kiss can say, I love you, I appreciate you, I thank you, I forgive you. A kiss can bring comfort, confidence, assurance, hope, promise, tenderness. A kiss can bring peace, joy and happiness. The early Christians were to greet one another, not with a handshake, but with a holy kiss on the cheek.
Because kisses are so powerful it’s hardly surprising that the Bible has quite a lot to say about them. Let’s look at some of the most touching, tender, meaningful kisses in the Bible and see what lessons we can learn from them.
The kiss of restoration (Luke 15:11 – 24) The father smothered his prodigal son with tender kisses. He had every right to renounce him, condemn him and banish him forever from his family. The most his returning son hoped for was a job as one of his servants. But the father’s kisses showed him he was completely forgiven and totally accepted.
The kiss of adoration (Luke 7:36 – 50) The sinful woman kissed the feet of Jesus at Simon the Pharisee’s house. She washed His feet with her tears. It was an act of pure adoration, love and worship. Simon had no ‘kiss’ for Jesus (Vs.45) No worship, only cold calculating dead works. Simon had no ‘love’ for Jesus. Sabbath keeping yes, reading the Torah yes, but no love, no kisses for Jesus. Simon had no ‘tears’ for Jesus. Ritual, dogma, creed, catechism, but no passion, no feelings, no emotion, no heart. It’s no hard to guess which one pleased Jesus the most.
The kiss of betrayal. (Mt.26:48 Mk.14:44) The most infamous kiss in history. Jesus said, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Judas took something that signified love, respect, worship, adoration, reverence, tenderness and turned it into a travesty; something despicable and dishonouring. He sullied it and dragged it into the dirt. Ever since, any act of betrayal is called, ‘the Judas kiss’ This is just like the Devil, he turns love into lust, need into greed, desire into envy, success into pride.
The kiss of submission (Psalm 2:12) “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way. When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Have you committed your life to Christ? Have you ‘kissed’ the Son yet? Submit your life to Him today before it’s too late.
- Pastor David Goudy