The First Kiss; You May Kiss your Bride

At what point in a relationship do you seal an important contract? Consider the procedure that a reasonable man embarks upon when his intention is to purchase a house. When he first sees a house that he is attracted to does he sign the purchase agreement? Maybe he signs the contract several times during the process of determining whether he really wants to purchase the house or not. Surely he signs the contract with passion after he has decided to buy the house, but while he is working out the final details of the deal. Of course he doesn't. The contract is signed after viewing the house, maybe several times, and after all of the details of the final purchase are agreed upon by all parties involved in the exchange of the property, and just before the legal exchange is to be consummated.

It is no surprise that symbolism has lost all meaning in a society that has divorced meaning from the actions of its people. The only thing that matters to modern man is whether he is satisfied, because he has been taught that there is nothing beyond the here and now. Therefore, there is no meaning in any activity beyond today. Symbolism is all about meaning. It only makes sense to see the significance of symbols wane in a society devoid of meaning.

It is most likely out of ignorance that the meaning behind the kiss at the close of the marriage ceremony has been obscured. This traditional kiss can be traced back to Roman society, in which the kiss was the sign of the seal of a contract. When the bride and groom kiss at the end of the marriage ceremony they are announcing, in this activity, that they are sealing the covenant.

Kissing, through the years, has taken on a much more emotional meaning. That emotional symbolism is no less solemn as the symbolism of sealing a contract. A passionate kiss is the emotional symbol of a giving of a part of oneself to another; an immensely solemn act.

At the end of a recent wedding of a young couple, after pronouncing them husband and wife, the pastor remarked that the groom had been waiting for this, the first kiss, for a long time. That couple obviously studied the significance behind the symbols that they were going to use in their marriage ceremony. They took seriously the meaning behind those symbols. They saved their first kiss for the time when they could truly say to one another that they were sealing their covenant for a lifetime. As is customary the couple kissed many times during the reception, and no doubt they will continue to kiss throughout their life together, reaffirming their commitment to each other.

Concerned about the lack of purity in the world that your children are growing up in? Teach them about the symbolism behind the first kiss. Encourage them to save the seal of the most important covenant that will attach themselves for the day that they are certain that they are going to commit to that covenant. It is heavenly watching a young couple share their first kiss, when the preacher announces to the groom, “you may now kiss your bride.”