[推荐]卢云（Henri J.M.Nouwen）心灵面包（Bread for the journey）－－6月15日（June 15）

marylu

著者：Henri.J.M.Nouwen
译者:徐成德

Small Steps of Love

How can we choose love when we have experienced so little of it? We choose love by taking small steps of love every time there is an opportunity. A smile, a handshake, a word of encouragement, a phone call, a card, an embrace, a kind greeting, a gesture of support, a moment of attention, a helping hand, a present, a financial contribution, a visit ... all these are little steps toward love.

Each step is like a candle burning in the night. It does not take the darkness away, but it guides us through the darkness. When we look back after many small steps of love, we will discover that we have made a long and beautiful journey.

爱的一小步

如果没有经历过多少爱，又如何选择爱呢？我们乃是采取爱的小步骤：微笑、握手、鼓励、探望、捐助，或是一通电话、一张卡片、一个拥抱、一份礼物；这些都是迈向爱的步履。

每一步好比暗夜燃烧的蜡烛，虽不能驱走黑暗，却能引导我们行经黑暗。回顾踩踏过的爱的微小步履，竟发现已经走了一段漫长又美丽的旅途。

marylu

著者：Henri.J.M.Nouwen
译者:徐成德

Doing Love

Often we speak about love as if it is a feeling. But if we wait for a feeling of love before loving, we may never learn to love well. The feeling of love is beautiful and life-giving, but our loving cannot be based in that feeling. To love is to think, speak, and act according to the spiritual knowledge that we are infinitely loved by God and called to make that love visible in this world.

Mostly we know what the loving thing to do is. When we "do" love, even if others are not able to respond with love, we will discover that our feelings catch up with our acts.

实践的爱

我们经常把爱说成是种感觉。但，若要等到有爱的感觉才能发挥爱，恐怕永远夜学不会好好的去爱。爱的感觉固然甜美，给人生机，但是爱不能以感觉为基础。爱乃是在灵里知道，神爱我们无边，并且要我们在这个世界彰显祂的爱；因此我们的思想、言语、行为，都遵照祂的爱。

我们都“知道”什么是爱的行为，但是当我们“行出”爱，即使别人不以爱回应，我们也会发现自己的感觉与行动变得一致了。

marylu

著者：Henri.J.M.Nouwen
译者:徐成德

Witnesses of Love

How do we know that we are infinitely loved by God when our immediate surroundings keep telling us that we'd better prove our right to exist?

The knowledge of being loved in an unconditional way, before the world presents us with its conditions, cannot come from books, lectures, television programs, or workshops. This spiritual knowledge comes from people who witness to God's love for us through their words and deeds. These people can be close to us but they can also live far away or may even have lived long ago. Their witness announces the truth of God's love and calls us to act in accordance with it.

爱的见证人

当四周的环境都要我们证明自己生存的权利，我们又如何知道神是以无限的爱爱我们？

世界把爱的条件开给我们，我们却知道自己是无条件的被爱，这并不是从书本、演讲、电视，或研讨会知道的。这灵里的体认，得自那些以自己的言行毕生见证神爱的人。他们或许离我们很近，也或许很远，甚至早已不在人世。但是他们的见证却道出神的爱，并且激励我们也如此去行。

长白山

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