Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
If loving each other is as important and significant to God as Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-39, the question that comes to mind is what are ways to love each other well? One of the ways Jesus loves us and invites us to love is through listening. The practice of listening well is loving, honoring, and healing.
What if listening is not merely the act of hearing the words spoken? What if listening is the practice/art of understanding the meaning behind the words? Listening is being attuned to a person’s heart and experience – joining them in their story, weeping as they weep, sharing their joy, and everything in between. Listening is one of the most remarkable skills anyone can ever practice; it helps to create an environment in which another person feels heard, understood, known, cared for...loved.
