"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..." (Col. 3:16) "...As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby..." (1 Pet. 2:2) "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21)

Consider the difference between a strong and weak cup of tea. The same ingredients--water and tea--are used for both. The difference is that the strong cup of tea results from the tea leaves' immersion in the water longer, allowing the water more time to get into the tea and the tea into the water. The longer the steeping process, the stronger the cup of tea.

In the same way, the length of time we spend in God's Word determines how deeply we get into it and it gets into us. Just like the tea, the longer we are in the Word, the stronger we become. (From 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, p. 31)