Bonhoeffer: 3. the ministry of listening

Friday, February 8, 2019
Meditation:
    He who has ears, let him hear.
    —Matthew 11:15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Seven principles for eradicating selfish ambition in the fellowship:
    3. The ministry of listening

    The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them... Listening can be a greater service than speaking...
    One who cannot listen long and patiently will presently be talking beside the point and be never really speaking to others... Anyone who thinks his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies...
    We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together [1954], tr. Daniel W. Bloesch & James H. Burtness, Fortress Press, 2004, p. 98 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:15; Rom. 15:1-3; 1 Cor. 2:11-13; 2 Cor. 1:3-5; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 4:29; Col. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, open my ears to my neighbor.

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