Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into
Macedonia.
Acts 20:37 And
they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, 38 Sorrowing most of all for the words which he
spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the
ship.
Churches! Filled with all kinds of people, gabby talkers, hesitating
hermits, emotional huggers, fist-bumping jocks.
Have you ever tried to throw a bro hug on a dude and he is not in the
least bit interested in sharing tender moments of close fellowship? AWKWARD!
Here is Paul, the guy with the weak physical constitution and rock
hard spirit. Not a real softy, by any means. He wraps the believers in his arms
and plants a holy kiss on the cheeks of the brethren. I am sure many of them
would have settled for a holy Aloha, but they got a full-bodied embrace.
Thing is, he knew that his life was in constant peril and that seeing
any of these folks again on this side of glory was unlikely. So he made his
farewells memorable.
Gets me to thinking, as I am about to head out of town on a ministry
excursion, how many good words were left unsaid? How many hugs were relegated
to a hand shake, fist bump or salute?
I may never get to wrap my little girl in my arms again. (Lord knows
that when I dropped her off at middle school this morning, the last thing she
wanted was a public display of affection from her old man!) That little peck
with the wife was pretty lame if it ends up being the last one due to unforeseen
circumstances.
So, if you think an appropriate hug is the thing to do, take Paul's
example and show people what they mean to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment