“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21 ESV). Think of your inner being as soil on which seed is planted. Jesus, in the Parable of the Sower, taught using this image, as does James here. It takes receptive soil for seeds to germinate and it takes tended soil that enables the plant to grow. Here, the word is a seed. It takes putting away anything that hinders the seed. It becomes in us a plant, a growing thing. It can save our souls; it can save our very lives. Humbly receive it. Gratefully treasure it. Diligently cultivate it. Then watch the Gardner skillfully produce fruit.
