June 23

Greet One Another With A Holy Kiss

Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Greetings and expressions of love vary from culture to culture, and to someone unfamiliar with the customs these greetings and formalities often seem strange. Four of the New Testament epistles end with the exhortation to give others a holy kiss or a kiss of love. Precisely what this meant is uncertain, but it is not a custom widely practiced among Western Christians today. It is unfortunate that such greetings and expressions of love have been lost, and modern-day Christians, especially from the West, would do well to learn from biblical and non-Western customs.

Todd and Karla Poulter, missionaries to Ghana, learned from their African friends new ways to express love and warmth.

“While returning one afternoon to our home in rural Ghana, we came upon a disabled van. It looked familiar and as we slowed down, we recognized Atiteng, one of the local chief’s sons, standing by the roadside. He’d run out of gas, an easy thing to do since fuel was scarce at the time.”

Todd siphoned enough gas out of his own tank to get Atiteng to a gas station, and as they parted, he indicated that he would not be paying for the gasoline—at this time. “If I pay you today, I can’t greet you tomorrow,” was his rationale. Todd and Karla went on their way, not thinking about the strange comment.

“The following afternoon,” writes Todd, “we returned from visiting one of our village neighbors to find Atiteng and two young men waiting at the house for us. We all sat down on the porch and went through the traditional Bulsa greetings, which may last up to a full minute. Only after such formalities could he come to the point of his visit.”

Atiteng had brought the Poulters a rooster—worth far more than the gasoline—as an expression of thanks. It was a moving experience for Todd and Karla, as they later recalled. “Our inclination would have been to settle everything right there on the road that afternoon. But to Atiteng his relationship with us meant far more than the gasoline or the money. He saw it as an opportunity not only to express gratefulness, but also to cement our friendship.” ²³