On this particular Saturday it was the National Day of Thanksgiving so we decided a simple way of connecting with people was to thank them for who they are and what they do. We went into cafes and restaurants, spoke to bouncers, security guards and police officers. At each point we simply thanked them for their service to the community. As you can imagine the response was positive and in most cases it caught people by surprise. We gave out chocolates and cards that said 'thank you'. We thanked people "on behalf of the church in Perth" which was a nice way to express a simple authentic representation of the 'Church' to people on the street. There was no agenda other than to acknowledge, appreciate and love people.
It was a real revelation for me to see what an impact a simple word of thanks can have for people. We seem to live in a society where many of the things we do go unappreciated. While for some people this is no big deal, for others a simple acknowledgement means the world to them. I found this with a couple of groups of police offices that we met. They perform a very thankless role in society and really valued us taking the time to thank them for what they do.
Jesus was always around people. He acknowledged the people around around him, like Zacchaeus in the tree (Luke 19:1-10), the woman who touch His robe (Luke 8:43-48) and the sick man who was lowered through the roof (Luke 5:17-20). He noticed people, valued their presence and who they were and loved them through His words, actions and power.
Who are the people that we can 'thank' in our everyday lives.
Our awareness of these people followed by a simple act of love and appreciation can make a world of difference to a person.
In a society where we are increasingly distracted by our own 'devices' (e.g., smartphone) maybe we need to take our eyes off the distractions and begin observing more intentionally the people around us. They are all loved by God and they can all experience the love of Jesus through us.
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