A quote that has popped into my head since I have been here is that “a smile is something that is truly understood regardless of the language.” This is so completely true. We often get so caught up in going here and going there, in living life, that we fail to see the people around us. The people next to us on the sidewalk or the person standing behind us at Tim Hortons (some Canada love! )that need the smile, need someone to just say hey.
As you walk down Bangla road you are bombarded by all these men attempting to sell you all sorts of evil. But if you watch how everyone reacts to these men, you can’t help but hurt for them. They are pushed aside and ignored or walked around with a sneer. God has really broken my heart for them and allowed me to be a piece of his Great Love and Light to them. In walking down the street I just look at their face, not what it is they are trying to sell me, and with a smile say Mai Ow Ka (no thank you) and keep walking. They always always always smile as they are slightly taken back from the way you have just treated them. You looked at them and answered them as if they are human beings and not these low lifes with a job nobody respects. They don’t speak perfect English- probably just enough to carry on a basic conversation but your smile was completely understood. You recognized their worth as a human being. You also made an attempt to speak thai to them—not common among the tourists here. After one week I can walk down that road and it is already getting to the point where people do not come to me as often trying to sell anything—instead they just smile and call to me “Mai Ow Ka! I remember you!” How great is the power of Christ that one run in with His light and they remember you from one simple phrase and a smile. I am totally blown away.
In John 13:35 God promises that “everyone will know that you are [His] disciples if you love one another.” How insane is this promise. That our love for one another, even those that we don’t like, totally points to Him; in loving one another we are being arrows to Christ without even speaking the gospel. Even more incredible is that God did not just promise us this, but he answers this promise. This is completely evident in the reaction these “salesmen” have to a simple smile and a brief attempt at coming to them in their language and meeting them where they are. Love moves.
