快快地听，慢慢地说！

Below was a quote from Bonhoeffer's Life Together, wise words to us.

从Koinonia读到潘霍华（Dietrich Bonhoeffer）在《团契生活》（Life Together）中所写的一段话：

Just as our love for God begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. God’s love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God’s Word, but also lends us God’s ear.

We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to "offer" something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening. But Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God. The death of the spiritual life starts here, and in the end there is nothing left but empty spiritual chatter and clerical condescension which chokes on pious words. Those who cannot listen long and patiently will always be talking past others, and finally no longer will even notice it. Those who think their time is too precious to spend listening will never really have time for God and others, but only for themselves and for their own words and plans.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

我曾与一位朋友这样说：“面对人，我们需要先聆听；面对上帝，我们只能先聆听！”我很感恩，在生命中遇到了好几位真正能聆听的朋友！在这方面，我一直作得不好，愿上帝帮助。

潘霍华这段话，我特别喜欢他说到，上帝对我们的爱，不只彰显在祂把话语赐给我们，也包括祂的聆听！感谢上帝！