“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23).

When we purchased a car that wasn’t new but was new to us we had to learn how it worked. We needed to find out how to operate the windshield wipers and turn on the hazard lights. Everything was there and was available but we referred to the owner’s manual to find out how to turn them on and have them function. That is the way the Bible works for us. It is the owner’s manual and even though everything is present and functional we want to know how to operate all the accessories.

The difference between the Bible and the owner’s manual is that we know the Creator who wrote the Bible. When things aren’t clear to us we can go directly to Him. He not only inspired Scripture, but He illuminates it as we read it. Mark said that the successful man “accepts the Word” and means that we welcome God’s Word it and allow it to become part of us. Luke added that he “holds fast the Word” and means that we won’t let it go no matter what. The key to any success we have is in our willingness to listen to what God says.

There are some things God says that we may not grasp right away, but as we meditate on His Word it and allow it to penetrate our hearts it will inevitably produce fruit. Take God’s Word seriously—grasp it, welcome it and hold it fast and it will make us successful. As Matthew taught us about the one who does these things, “This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”