A business executive became depressed. The economy was in a tailspin and things were not going well at work. His worry and stress were taking their toll and he was bringing his problems home with him every night. Every evening he would eat his dinner in silence, shutting out his wife and five-year-old daughter who chatted on incessantly about their day to his deaf ears. Eventually he would silently get up, go into the den and read the paper using it as a security blanket and a screen to shield him from a world he couldn’t control.
After several nights of this, one evening his daughter took her little hands and pushed the newspaper down. Looked him square in the eye, jumped into her father’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him so strongly he blurted out, “Honey, you are choking me to death!”
“No, Daddy,” his little angle said, “I’m hugging you to life!”
This was the greatness of Jesus’ humanity. He saw people who were struggling to be connected in life, often broken, typically isolated and usually filled with fear and then he hugged them to life. He didn’t just tell them to read the Bible more, pray more or give more (all good stuff for healthy people to do), but He embodied God’s love in a way that touched the human heart. Sometimes he spoke a word from God at the right time, sometimes it was with a look that penetrated right to the marrow and sometimes it was the warmth of a gentle touch that healed years of loneliness and rejections. He hugged us all to life on Calvary.
As Jesus-followers we then are invited to reflect God’s presence by letting it flow into and through us to those desperate for real life. There are of course many more ways to hug someone than just a physical embrace. Here are a few for you to try. See what works for you and don’t ever give up the mission.
- Affirming Hug – tell someone they look nice today, compliment your waitress, secretary, nurses, etc.
- Healing Hug – a listen to someone dealing with a difficult problem, visit a friend, send a card
- Laughing Hug – laughter is good medicine, smile and wait for a smile response, tell a joke
- Spiritual Hug – pray for a friend, invite someone to your church family, Thank God for a loved one
- Surprise Hug – do an unexpected kindness, deliver cookies, be sneaky in doing good!
- Loving Hug – give a surprise gift, say “I Love You” 10 times a day, call a friend
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