Talking And Listening
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
My dear encountered couples:
“The Father loves the Son,” Jesus said, “and everything the Father does he shows him.” One of the ways to show somebody our love is by talking and listening.
When we love someone we usually want to tell that person all about ourselves. We want them to know us and love us as we are, and to be honest with us about themselves. God the Father and the Son do that with each other. They hold nothing back, they keep no secrets; they are completely open and honest with each other. And their love has lasted for all eternity. Would that more of our human loves would last a fraction of that long! Maybe one of the reasons many of our loves don’t last long is that we don’t talk and explain ourselves. Or is it that we don’t listen to the one who is trying to do the talking and explaining?
The love between God the Father and the Son is so great that they are always communicating; they are always talking and listening to one another. Many marriages and friendships lack both communication and listening. When there is no communication, when we do not listen to one another, we remain mysteries to each other. Thoughts, ideas, emotions, and feelings are held in. Criticism, complaints and grievances are bottled up, misunderstandings form in our minds, and we make rash judgments. Gradually, before we realize it, our love for one another diminishes, even disappears.
Please do not let that happen between you and those you love. “The Father loves the Son,” Jesus said, “and everything the Father does he shows him.” Among the ways he shows him is by talking and listening. Let us do that more often with those we love, especially with those closest to us. We don’t want to lose them.
