A man walking by a garden saw a butterfly flitting from one flower to another, and he noted that, while beautiful, it received absolutely no benefit from those flowers. Then he saw a bee that sank deep down into the flower to extract all the pollen it could carry, its legs saturated.

As believers, it should be our goal to become like that bee—taking in the nourishment, the depth, and the power of the Word that provides spiritual truth and promotes spiritual growth. Anybody who's been changed by the "Word of truth" (James 1:18) will love it.

James 1 says, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (v. 21).

This metaphor of planting a garden illustrates a two-fold thought: to renounce something in order to receive other things. Before God's Word can produce a righteous life, we have to put away unrighteous things.

In His parable about the sower and the seed, Jesus said that some people are like the seed that falls onto the soil but gets choked out by the weeds and becomes unfruitful (see Matthew 13:3-9). We need to pull up the weeds of sin that choke out the seeds of truth.

Get rid of anything in your life that hinders you from really hearing the Word of God—behaviors, practices, addictions—and receive the Word with meekness. We should be planting truth in our hearts.

Paul wrote: "Put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth…put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge" (Colossians 3:8-10).

And in 1 Peter 2:1-2, Peter wrote, "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." This is a mark of spiritual maturity.

You should take advantage of every opportunity to hear God's Word. And when you hear it, don't argue with it. Receive it meekly. When your heart is planted in the Word, you'll want to get rid of the things in your life that make you deaf to the truth of Scripture.

When James spoke about the Word of truth, it's not like the popular idea today that truth is fluid, unfixed, and "everyone has their own." No, James was speaking about objective truth; the universal, absolute truth that is true in every language for every single person.

And we are called to be people of the truth, who follow the One who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

The Word will always tell you the truth—the truth about God, the truth about your condition, and the truth about your need. Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).

It is the truth about Jesus Christ which saves people. And it is the Word of God that gives us life. The truth that saves you is the same truth that will sanctify and satisfy you.

In fact, if you're saved, you won't be satisfied with anything else.