The Cracked Acorn: A Kiss

Greet one another with a kiss of love. (I Peter 5:14-)

There isn’t much to do when you are waiting in line at Wal Mart. I never have disciplined myself to have a book or something to read to fill these moments. In a nearby line, a young father was holding the baby, mother found the opportunity to give their child a loving kiss, but afterward found it a little too wet, didn’t matter to the baby who gave a toothless smile to mom, who waited for a clandestine moment to wipe the drool on her sleeve. Love has its limits!!

Gloria made a friend of a schoolteacher when we lived in Herndon; the friend was a member of the Disciples of Christ. She told of a day at school that a little girl who always wanted a kiss from the teacher at the end of the day had a terribly bad cold and should have stayed at home but here she was on the way out the door for home and waiting for her kiss. The teacher moved in to give the kiss and to avoid the germy tiny lips she swiftly turned her head, she was too late – the little girl was a bit faster and planted one on the teacher’s mouth. The teacher got a cold and now out for a couple of days.

History cannot tell us where the kiss came from, its’ origin remains a mystery. A kiss from a friend, spouse or stranger can really render us defenseless. Statisticians note we spent two weeks of our lives kissing, burning 20,160 calories and exposing ourselves and others to billions of bacteria. A kiss can land on the lips, cheek, or a ladies’ hand or a friend’s neck any time, anywhere, even underwater; it’s an uncontrollable human physical expression of released emotion. Beware, for in Indiana it is illegal for a mustached man to habitually kiss others; in Hartford, Connecticut, a husband can’t kiss his wife on Sunday and at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, it is a crime to kiss a stranger. (from FACTS ABOUT KISSING)

A kiss is an expression of psychological closeness.

In the Old Testament, it was an honor for your father to ask you for a kiss(Gen. 27:26). It was a custom used for greeting(Gen. 29:13), for good-by (Ruth 1:14). We acquaint it with the return of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). It was part of the conferral of kingship(I Sam. 10:1) and sadly of betrayal (Luke 22:47). The Bible uses this word 46 times.

A secular song says: You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply, they still say “I love you!”, on that you can rely, no matter what the future brings. The world will always welcome this, as time goes by.

A favorite – since I am aging: Gen.48:10 “Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age,and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.”

The Psalmist’s advice is: “Kiss the Son, lest he is angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (2:12)