PDA in the Church

During my middle school years they had a strict rule against PDA—public displays of affection. We were told that if caught doing anything that violated the PDA rule we would get afterschool detention. PDA included hugging, hand-holding, kissing, or anything that a teacher considered showing too much affection toward another student. The only time students held hands was as part of a P.E. game or when two or more girls were walking somewhere together.

School dances were the one exception to this rule. After all, slow dancing was basically a form of hugging while moving to music. Dances were typically the only time I saw one of my friends holding hands with a girl at school. Kissing was still not allowed, but people usually found some out-of-the-way place to make out if they really wanted to.

By high school the PDA rule had either changed or just was non-existent. Everywhere we went on campus we saw boys and girls holding hands, girls sitting on a guy’s lap, hugging each other in the hallways, etc. Again, students could still get in trouble for kissing, but it didn’t stop them from the occasional quick peck.

The thing about PDA is that it was displayed publically and others couldn’t help but notice it. The same thing happens in public every day. Sometimes it is just too much to take and other times it is such a sweet display of love. At least that is what I think whenever I see an elderly couple walking down the street holding hands.

One elderly couple that had been married for 75 years were seen holding hands as they both lay in hospital beds that had been pushed side-by-side. They had been sweethearts for more than 80 years and, except for a few years when he had been in WWI, they had never been apart.

They had experienced their fair share of disagreements, arguments, and fights. They had suffered the death of a child. They struggled with a few years of unemployment when they almost lost everything. They had battled cancer scares. They went through the usual aches and pains of age. But they did it all together.

Now at the age of 95 they were both seriously ill. The nurses said that they held hands for hours at a time, even while sleeping. They were holding hands on the day that the both passed away, just hours apart. What a beautiful display of love for each other.

In Acts 3 we see a beautiful and very public display of affection that can only come through a powerful relationship with Jesus.

Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer at three in the afternoon. And a man who was lame from birth was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. Peter, along with John, looked at him intently and said, “Look at us.” So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. So he jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple complex. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10, HCSB)

In this passage we see love displayed in several ways. First, this man that has never walked in his life, was dependent on others for his mere existence. The first display of love had to be from his parents. While they are not mentioned in this passage, we can only imagine that he had to have had loving parents that helped him survive his childhood.

They must have known shortly after his birth that he would be dependent on them his entire life. They would have had to carry him everywhere. They knew he would never be able to make a living for himself. The fact that this man made it past his childhood tells us that his parents displayed a great amount of love for him.

The second display of love was from some unnamed family or friends. Notice that this passage said that the man was carried to the gate everyday so that he could beg for money from the religious people that were coming and going from the Temple. These friends would have to forgo some of their own responsibilities long enough that they could make sure that this man was taken care of for the day. They may have even given him some food and drink to take with him as he sat in the shade of the Temple all day long.

The third display of love was from the Apostles Peter and John as they were entering the Temple. The man asked them for help and they could have easily walked on by without even acknowledging him. This happens to thousands of homeless and hungry people in our area every day. People often pretend that they don’t even see them or make a display of going out of the way to avoid getting too close.

Peter and John could have moved along after telling the man that they had no money for him. I rarely carry any cash on me, so this is usually the first thing I have to tell people when they ask me for some money for the bus or so they can buy cigarettes. Peter and John might even have wondered if this man was really injured. I am sure that they had experienced their fair share of people lying about needing help just so they could get some alcohol or some other fix.

But Peter and John used this moment to display love that was something far from their own ability. This man was asking for money, but he had a far greater need. He needed to be healed. He needed to walk. He had spent his entire life dependent on others and he needed to know what it was like to be able to care for himself. So Peter reached out his hand in a great display of love for this man.

Remember that Jesus had promised the Apostles that He would send the Spirit of God to them. The Spirit of God was going to give them the power to be witnesses of Jesus. In Acts 2:43 we read that, “many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.” Because Peter had been filled with the Spirit, he could boldly stand before this man and proclaim that Jesus had the power to provide for his greatest need.

The fourth display of love came from God as He healed this man of a lifelong problem. Peter pulled the man up and at once his feet and ankles became strong enough to hold his weight so he could walk. And not just walk, but leap with joy. Imagine the miracle that was required to take muscles that had surely atrophied from a lifetime of non-use. But God made them strong enough that this man could leap.

Remember that earlier I said that the great thing about public displays of affection like these is that people can’t help but notice? That is exactly what happens when God displays His love for us. People notice. Acts 3:9-10 says that “all the people saw him walking and praising God, and…they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.”

What a beautiful thing to see God’s public displays of affection for those He created. To witness with our own eyes miraculous and powerful things that could only be explained by a faith in God. That still happens today. Sometimes we are too busy to notice. Other times we are too skeptical to admit it possible. But when people see God working in our lives and the lives of others, they notice.

One reason the message of the early church went viral is that the Apostles were not afraid to allow the Holy Spirit to work through them. They had boldness to believe that God could show His love to others in ways that were miraculous.

What about us? Do we have the faith to believe God can do things beyond our understanding? Do we have the boldness to allow God to work through us? Do we desire to publically display the affection of God to our community and world?