H. U. G. S.

after my post on tuesday, i couldn’t help but pull out an acrostic poem that i wrote back in 6th grade.

H - eavenly angel wings
disguised as
earthly friendships
U - nderstanding
willingness
with arms open wide
G - iving your heart
and a listening ear
to lean on
S - mile impressions
wrapped in a
warm tight squeeze

i then started thinking about how hugs are not once mentioned in the bible. the only time the word appears is in job 24:8, referencing the poor hugging rocks in search of shelter. not exactly warm and fuzzy. i am not a theologian by any stretch of the imagination, but i’ll have to do some research on why that is. for now, my random ponderings will have to suffice.

dictionary.com defines a hug as “to clasp tightly in the arms, especially with affection; embrace; to cling firmly or fondly to, cherish; to keep close to.” based on that, and all of the things from my poem that a hug communicates, then i guess you would say that hugs are an implicit scriptural concept. in addition, the words cling or hold fast do appear many times.

it is both a command ...

joshua tells the israelites to “cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.” (joshua 23:8)

and a necessity ...

david declares, “i cling to You; Your strong right hand holds me securely.” (psalm 63:8)

it is the assurance of having someone on your side, being confident of your standing, and empowered to go out and continue fighting.

therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place ... let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith ... let us HOLD FAST the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. (hebrews 10: 19a, 22a, 23-25a)

ultimately, we need not hug - cling to - a person, but to what we believe. once we are fully convinced of that, then we are able to encourage others - through a word, a smile ... or a hug :)