1 Peter 2:1-3
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Why is it such a problem when babies and children are malnourished?  Because they won’t grow properly.  Things that need to happen in their still-developing bodies may not occur without the required nutrients.  And milk has all those things that are essential for their healthy growth.  They crave it and cry for it because they need it so much.  It’s not just about feeling full, but providing what will allow them to grow in a healthy way.

And we grow spiritually in the same way that babies grow physically—by consuming what can nourish us in the proper ways to allow us to grow, by partaking of what can supply what we lack so our growth is healthy.  The Word of God is that nourishment.  It has exactly what we need in the right amounts so that we can grow from it.  But we must partake of it, or else we’ll just wither spiritually without anything to feed that new life in us.

The purpose of Bible study is to grow.  It’s not just that we become bloated and full on knowledge, but we have something essential that can get us somewhere we aren’t right now.  Our faith can grow when we understand more about God.  Our love for others can grow as we understand the great love of God Himself.  Our understanding of God’s will grows as we learn of His expectations of how we are to live our lives.  Our desire to serve Him grows as we are drawn closer to Him.  Our ability to resist the flesh grows as we learn truth to counter the enemy and our old ways of thinking.

A newborn baby needs milk to survive.  It is an absolute necessity.  As Christians, we’re going to stay stuck in that infant stage if we don’t spend quality time in God’s Word.  But no matter how long we’ve known the Lord, there is always room to grow.  There is always an area of our lives that can be strengthened.  There is a depth to His eternal Word that we can keep going deeper and deeper into.  So may we be willing to spend some quality time nourishing our hearts, minds, and souls by drawing near to God in His Word.