The worth of a kiss!
In 1990 the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and heart to cross-cultural mission work, which I knew nothing about. I had a very wise pastor, ds Josef Brooks of Potchefstroom. He advised me to go on a prayer and fasting seclusion retreat for seven days, to receive a word and direction from the Lord. During the retreat I read the book of Isaiah. One only needs to read Isaiah 6 and respond to the LORD’s call: “Who can We send and who will go for Us?”, to be called! I returned from the retreat with a clear call from God to become involved in mission work. Ds Josef, with much wisdom, encouraged me to become involved in the congregation’s own ministry program before venturing out into the mission field. He said that there I could grow and learn, and if I made mistakes, the congregation would watch over me.
One of the elders, oom Kosie van Tonder, and I, were tasked to start a small church amongst the workers on a chicken-farm outside Potchefstroom. We took turns to preach and minister on Sundays. It was a good place to learn how to share the gospel, how to teach from the word, how to minister to people in prayer and how to overcome a big hurdle to cross-cultural work in South Africa, Apartheid.
My interpreter on the farm was Florence, a dynamic young woman. We immediately liked each other and found a rhythm as we ministered side-by-side, every alternate Sunday. We first had a short message for the children and then for the adults. For our Christmas service in December 1990, we organised a meal for the small congregation and invited other families on the farm as well. We bought gifts for everyone, especially the children. We also collected second-hand clothes for the young children and babies. It was a joyful occasion. As I gave Florence her gift, she came forward and gave me a kiss on my lips. You need to remember that it was in Apartheid. Nelson Mandela was still in prison. Kissing across the colour-divide was frowned upon. I received the kiss in good friendship and decided to not make a fuss about it. But that kiss had changed something in me. I no longer saw the black people are objects needing our mercy and kindness, but as people loved by the Lord. In my heart, Florence became my sister.
We continued our small church outreach for a second year, 1991. During this year, ds Josef encouraged me to organise a mission weekend for the congregation and then to go on a mission outreach with a group to a nation outside South Africa. I went on a mission trip with OM to Mozambique. There I wrestled with the LORD about full-time mission work. I came back to Potchefstroom with the assurance that God wanted me to quit my job and make a career change, from specialist agricultural researcher to missionary.
It was hard to say goodbye to Florence and to the small congregation on the chicken-farm. We organised another huge meal, and lots of gifts, for our Christmas service that year. I asked if there was anyone that wanted to give a testimony of what they had experienced during the past year-and-a-half. Florence stood up, her eyes shining. What she said humbled me so much. She recalled the incident during the Christmas meal the previous year. She looked at me and said: “The moment you kissed me, I knew Jesus loved me and was my Saviour.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. It was not my intention to kiss her. It was she who kissed me! But this was the moment that the Lord used to reveal Himself to her. The gospel was not revealed in preaching and teaching but in acceptance and love. A simple kiss between two young women from different cultures, became a huge kiss of mercy from a Saviour to two women, one needing eternal salvation, the other one needing salvation from the system of Apartheid. It changed everything in my life and in her life. That kiss changed both our worldviews, and it sent me off into a world of missions for the next thirty years.
So, what is the worth of a kiss? David wrote: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry.” (Psalm 2:12). In the New Testament we read of two people kissing Jesus. There was the kiss of Judas: Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). And then there was the kiss of the sinful woman: “and she stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:38)
What is the worth of a kiss to Jesus? The Afrikaans word for reconciliation is versoening. The central phrase in the word is SOEN (kiss). When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He wanted us to come close enough to kiss. The Welsh Hymn: “Here is Love” sums it up: God in Jesus kisses us with his love and mercy, and we must carry His kiss to every human on this earth.
HERE IS LOVE.
Welsh Title: Dyma gariad fel y moroedd. Author: William Rees
Verse 1
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood;
When the Prince of Life my ransom,
Shed for me His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He shall never be forgotten,
Through heav’n’s everlasting days.
Verse 2
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Thro’ the flood gates of God’s mercy
Flow’d the vast and gracious tide;
Grace and love like mighty rivers
Pour’d incessant from above,
And heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Verse 3
Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy Kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory;
Nothing in the world I see:
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me;
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
Verse 4
In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
All Thy fullness Thou art pouring
In Thy love and power in me
Without measure, full and boundless,
As I yield myself to Thee.