“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)

Jesus explained to His disciples that in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15), the seed represented the word of God. In order for God’s word to do its work in our hearts, we must first hear it.

We can hear God’s word each week by going to a Bible-believing church.  We hear the word through the hymns and worship songs we sing and through the sermon. More than that, we hear God’s word every time we read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us. This involves not only listening with our ears, but having a heart willing to receive instruction.

Yet hearing the word isn’t enough, because, as shown in the parable, many heard the word but only a few produced a crop. Only a few showed evidence in their lives that they had been changed. The next essential step is to retain the word.

As any teacher will tell you, the best way to retain information is to put it into practice. Later in the same chapter, Jesus says, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (Luke 8:21)  Not only must we put into practice what we hear from God’s word, but we need to persevere. Troubles will come, as will times of success; joyful events and seasons of heartbreak. Through it all, we need to continue to listen to God’s word and put it into practice.