These famous words of Jesus Christ in the context of the parable of the lamp virtually coincide with the Gospels of Marc and Luc (in Luke 8:18" shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. ") These words are pronounced after the words: "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear! Take heed what ye hear "(Luke 8:18 "So take care how you listen…”). And although these same words are used in the Gospel of Matthew in a different context - as answer to the question of the followers: “why do you speak to them in parables”? ", - this only helps to understand the meaning of these words.

It is doubtless here a matter of giving heed in our heart to God’s words and about their preservation in our minds, about having them in our memory. It is effectively by such words that evangelist Luke characterize the relation of the Mother of Jesus to God’s will and activities. She" treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). It is necessary to have firstly in heart all, that God says; otherwise everything will be vain - all the words of the Divine commandments will volatilize, they will have no effect on our deeds, and will bring no fruit to us: everything “shall be taken away”.

So exclaims King David, having received the prophecy about the coming Messiah. For him it is completely obvious that if God has promised something, then it is already as good as present, because God's words are unchangeable. Is there such faith in God in us, such trust in Him? We read many wonderful promises of God in the Old Testament and especially in the New Testament. Do we accept them as something unchangeable, or do we treat them as something conditional: perhaps it will happen, and perhaps it will not? We even find a kind of "justification" for this unbelief: "But we are sinners; how can we receive what was promised?"

Yes, but David too was a sinner, and yet he did not doubt the truth of God's promise. And again we can recall Jesus' words filled with bitterness: "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

Today the Lord addresses to us one of the most important questions: "How do we listen?" We regularly read the Bible, and even visit Bible sites on the Internet, but do we have ears to receive the Word, let it take root in our heart, and bear fruit?

The Lord says: "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and more will be added to you who hear." In essence this means: what a person wants to find in Scripture, and in God's revelation in general, is what he will find. The Bible can provide us with the richest material for history, literature, philology, mysticism, and so on, but only the one who seeks in it the knowledge of God, that is, living personal relations with Him built on trust and love, will be able to find God in reading Holy Scripture.

And here the words that "to the one who has, more will be given" acquire their meaning. In listening to and understanding the Word of God, we can only deepen and multiply what we already have; that is, we must approach it from within an already existing bond with God, in faith and prayer.