When you touch and stroke the cheek of a new-born baby, you will notice that she will turn her head towards your hand with her open mouth, seeking nourishment.  This is called the rooting reflex, one of 75 reflexes a baby is born with.

Likewise, a new babe in Christ will naturally hunger for spiritual nourishment and will gravitate towards the Holy Scriptures.  And while believers in Christ hunger for the things of God in different degrees, there is no denying that when one has become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), the craving for God’s word will be there.

However, the rooting reflex disappears after a few months when the baby starts to look for its source of sustenance voluntarily.  This is also true for the believer.  As he matures spiritually, he is then able to freely choose when to go back to the word of God and tend to his spirit’s needs.

It is a sad fact though, that some of us Christians get distracted by the cares of the world and neglect spending time meditating on God’s word.   Some who are even very active in church ministry, have become too busy serving the body of Christ that they forget to have their quiet times, prayerfully studying the Bible with an open and teachable, but discerning heart. It is no wonder therefore that they get burned out serving in their respective ministries.

This only highlights the fact that the Christian’s spiritual growth is directly related to how much time he spends in the word and how much he allows the word of Christ to dwell in him richly (Col. 3:16).

So, regardless of whether you are a young or old believer, you should always make time for Bible reading and studying.  As Peter said in his first epistle:

 “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2)