By Jeffrey & Kathi Pelton
“…but His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshipped the Beloved with a kiss.”
This is a tender line from a beautiful carol called, “In the Bleak Midwinter”
Probably the first thing every mother does when she is handed her baby for the first time is to give the newly arrived little one a gentle kiss.
Mary kissed her infant son—the first Christmas kiss! For her, the pain of a long, grueling ride astride a donkey while heavy with child faded away. The discomfort of finding no real shelter that night was forgotten. Even the pain of giving birth subsided. A kiss welcomed our Savior; a kiss welcomed the end of the pain and hopelessness suffered by a world without a Savior.
Mary’s kiss was not only given to her tiny Son, but it was also a kiss for all of those that He came to save. As she kissed her Baby, she kissed the One who was born to die for all mankind.
This mother who kissed her Son’s tiny, innocent hands and feet would one dark day kiss her adult Son’s innocent, nail-pierced hands and feet—and the pain that faded in the manger would pierce her heart. For He took upon Himself the pain of every person, so that through His pain we could be offered the kiss of salvation.
Each new day we are kissed with God’s mercies that are new every morning. Mercy freely given that can be freely received.
This Christmas season may you receive the kisses of our Savior who gave the greatest gift mankind could ever receive: salvation by grace. It is His kiss.
Oceans in the Desert 
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