It Started with a Kiss

I was referred to a news story from a daily blog post - a news story I probably would have missed otherwise: “Couple’s love story began with a CPR kiss.”Yes, it does have a bit of a tabloid sound to it, but it could be worse.

It’s the story of a man training for one of those endurance athletic contests - this one involved a paddle board. He had run 10+ miles the day before. Toward the end of this session, he had burning in his chest, and just hoped to make it back to the car, which he made, but not quite. He collapsed, and then had no heartbeat for 17 minutes. 

A woman friend who had also been training and was trained in CPR, immediately began administering air to his lungs, supplying oxygen until paramedics could get his heart going again. It took six defib shocks, and then he was on the road to recovery. But without CPR, without that first kiss, he wouldn’t have made it. 

Well, the man and woman are now a “thing,” and any future kisses are due to that first kiss.

The Gospel tells us that we were dead in trespasses and sins, and without that “first kiss,” that initiative from Jesus that was completely outside of our power or control; without his entry into this world and submission to the sacrifice which saved us from our sins; without our hearing of the Gospel and the Spirit opening “the eyes of our understanding” to see and receive the truth; without all this, there would have been no hope.

Another strange parallel to the story was that, in a way, Jesus was not the one who gave the first kiss, but rather the one who received it. But that kiss was not a kiss of mercy, or help, or rescue. It was a kiss of deception, administered by one of his disciples, who should have been for him, but proved rather to be against him. Our salvation started with that kiss, that Jesus knew was coming, and received it anyway, so that we could have life.

There are a few lessons here:

1. there are different kinds of kisses: CPR kisses; kisses of betrayal; holy kisses, etc. Not all are the same.
2. some of our best relationships are not planned out by us, especially our relationship with God through Jesus
3. endurance training guarantees … nothing