If you use a Bible search engine to locate all the "one another"s in the New Testament, you will come across four very uncomfortable references: Romans 16:16, I Corinthians 16:20, II Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Peter 5:14. All four of them speak specifically of greeting one another with a kiss. I'll let the Artios guys comment on the kissing part, but I think all Christians can (and should) follow the greeting part.
Did you know that obeying the Bible can be as easy as a handshake?
Greetings are a first step in obeying other Bible directives. Many one-another verses have "love" written all over them in invisible letters. I may not love everyone I greet, but I cannot love someone I never greet. I cannot build up (Romans 14:19), speak to (Ephesians 5:19), encourage (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25 ), or admonish (Hebrews 10:24 , Colossians 3:16 , Romans 15:14 ) people if I never get close enough to shake their hands. All of those verbs expand on the active love that the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to show. Building up, speaking to, encouraging, and admonishing must all be done in love in order to have any effectiveness.
Where is a good place to go beyond greeting and do some building-up/encouraging/admonishing?
In our American (and especially Baptist) context, sharing food offers an ideal opportunity to obey these Biblical directives. The college and career class tries to offer eating times in order to facilitate one-another times. The real purpose of coffee Sundays is not to enjoy Mrs. Roach's great cooking but to find ways to stimulate each other to love and good works. So next time we have a fellowship, get your plate, greet someone, and get going!
Rachel Potter
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