I received a text message from my sister this week which told me about my young nephew who was playing with his toy phone. It said he was having this conversation "It's Uncle Chris. Hi Uncle Chris, I'm looking forward to giving you a big squeeze when the germs are gone. Hopefully it won't be too long now. I love you. Ok mate see you soon!"
Children for me always hold so much wisdom and can express it in a funny way. I wasn't on the other end of the phone but the sentiment that my nephew carried in this imaginary conversation is one I fully understand. I think we all do.
I can't wait to give him a big squeeze, I can't wait to give all the people I love in my life a hug, especially my nieces and nephews. Speaking of which another nephew of ours was born just this week and I can't wait to get a cuddle with him too!
A hug is so much more than two people squishing their arms around each other, I can talk here about how mutual physical contact with another human genuinely changes your brain chemistry, releases endorphins and how it makes you feel. But I want to focus on what it says about both the people involved. A hug is still a good sign of someone’s relationship, the worst it can be is a person showing the other that they care, if it’s not this as a minimum, then it’s a rugby tackle or assault! A hug at its best is vulnerability, it quite literally involves you opening up your arms and letting the other person in, it shows that you do not feel threated and you feel comfortable together. At its best it shows security in your relationship with the other person.
Feeling secure in your relationship with another person is phenomenally important in a human being’s lifetime. Having the people that you share your life with is equally important.
One thing that has certainly happened during this pandemic is make or break moments with our relationships with people. We know that for instance in China that divorce rates shot up after lockdown, but we also know that these times have brought people closer together.
Often I am so busy, some of the most important relationships, especially with family, are the ones that without me knowing I don't give as much time to. However, this has now changed, phone calls, zoom quizzes and text messages are all happening at a greater rate than they used to. The key to this is that they are all happening without cause. Actually a lot of the time there isn't even a lot to talk about, but they still take place. Other relationships are still happening with the frequency that you would expect. However, those no cause, no reason communications are such a positive at this time.
Do more of this with the people you love. We might not be able to hug people, but you can open yourself up, be vulnerable, be comfortable, have that arms open wide feeling of being secure in your relationships. That sometimes means just contact people because you care.
Sometimes you have no idea what this means to the other person. The video below is of a little boy giving a hug and just see what difference this makes. Although we can't hug people right now you can still have that conversation with them!
Children for me always hold so much wisdom and can express it in a funny way. I wasn't on the other end of the phone but the sentiment that my nephew carried in this imaginary conversation is one I fully understand. I think we all do.
I can't wait to give him a big squeeze, I can't wait to give all the people I love in my life a hug, especially my nieces and nephews. Speaking of which another nephew of ours was born just this week and I can't wait to get a cuddle with him too!
A hug is so much more than two people squishing their arms around each other, I can talk here about how mutual physical contact with another human genuinely changes your brain chemistry, releases endorphins and how it makes you feel. But I want to focus on what it says about both the people involved. A hug is still a good sign of someone’s relationship, the worst it can be is a person showing the other that they care, if it’s not this as a minimum, then it’s a rugby tackle or assault! A hug at its best is vulnerability, it quite literally involves you opening up your arms and letting the other person in, it shows that you do not feel threated and you feel comfortable together. At its best it shows security in your relationship with the other person.
Feeling secure in your relationship with another person is phenomenally important in a human being’s lifetime. Having the people that you share your life with is equally important.
One thing that has certainly happened during this pandemic is make or break moments with our relationships with people. We know that for instance in China that divorce rates shot up after lockdown, but we also know that these times have brought people closer together.
Often I am so busy, some of the most important relationships, especially with family, are the ones that without me knowing I don't give as much time to. However, this has now changed, phone calls, zoom quizzes and text messages are all happening at a greater rate than they used to. The key to this is that they are all happening without cause. Actually a lot of the time there isn't even a lot to talk about, but they still take place. Other relationships are still happening with the frequency that you would expect. However, those no cause, no reason communications are such a positive at this time.
Do more of this with the people you love. We might not be able to hug people, but you can open yourself up, be vulnerable, be comfortable, have that arms open wide feeling of being secure in your relationships. That sometimes means just contact people because you care.
Sometimes you have no idea what this means to the other person. The video below is of a little boy giving a hug and just see what difference this makes. Although we can't hug people right now you can still have that conversation with them!
In 2 Corinthians 13:12 it says to "Greet one another with a holy kiss"
In fact in the new testament it says this 5 times in total. Don't do this! Especially with a global pandemic currently happening!
Kissing someone is a fairly intimate thing to do. I don’t kiss people that I don't know! So maybe this doesn’t really apply to our context which is western society in 2020, but it did back when it was written. However, what is this really saying?
I think this is simply saying be vulnerable, arms out open wide, welcoming people. Sounds quite a lot like a hug to me. All that world needs the hugging feeling right now. How do we do this?
This verse is part of the passage below from 2 Corinthians 13.
Paul’s Final Greetings
Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet each other with a sacred kiss. All of God’s people here send you their greetings.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
This is Paul's Final Greetings, but what if we as Christians made this our welcome.
Being joyful (not happy clappy... joyful). Being mature in what we do and the way we treat others including the people that we don't always get along with, encouraging everyone around us to be the best version of themselves, which is ultimately who God created them to be. To live in harmony and peace, doesn't mean everyone agreeing! Martin Luther King Jr is quoted “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” To do all of this with God of Love and Peace.
That is when we can welcome properly. Those actions are a hug. Those actions embrace. We could even call those actions a holy kiss!
If we welcome everyone like that, then the last bit of what Paul says to the Corinthians makes sense. The Grace of Jesus Christ, the Love of God and The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit all comes to the fore but none of it makes sense without the welcome.
In fact in the new testament it says this 5 times in total. Don't do this! Especially with a global pandemic currently happening!
Kissing someone is a fairly intimate thing to do. I don’t kiss people that I don't know! So maybe this doesn’t really apply to our context which is western society in 2020, but it did back when it was written. However, what is this really saying?
I think this is simply saying be vulnerable, arms out open wide, welcoming people. Sounds quite a lot like a hug to me. All that world needs the hugging feeling right now. How do we do this?
This verse is part of the passage below from 2 Corinthians 13.
Paul’s Final Greetings
Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet each other with a sacred kiss. All of God’s people here send you their greetings.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
This is Paul's Final Greetings, but what if we as Christians made this our welcome.
Being joyful (not happy clappy... joyful). Being mature in what we do and the way we treat others including the people that we don't always get along with, encouraging everyone around us to be the best version of themselves, which is ultimately who God created them to be. To live in harmony and peace, doesn't mean everyone agreeing! Martin Luther King Jr is quoted “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” To do all of this with God of Love and Peace.
That is when we can welcome properly. Those actions are a hug. Those actions embrace. We could even call those actions a holy kiss!
If we welcome everyone like that, then the last bit of what Paul says to the Corinthians makes sense. The Grace of Jesus Christ, the Love of God and The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit all comes to the fore but none of it makes sense without the welcome.