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I don’t mean to brag, (well ok, maybe just a little) but I have the cutest nephew in the world! And he is going to change the world if he keeps hugging that oh so special present he got this Christmas!

Christmas morning, we woke up rushed to our stockings and Christmas tree and ripped open those long-awaited presents. It takes 10 times as long to shop for and wrap each present as it does to open and play with them, but hey, that’s a part of a mother’s job (and Santa’s)! After quickly opening our presents we rushed to get ready for church. Yep, Christmas was on a Sunday this year, and like many of you we rushed off to our place of worship.

As we sat there in our seats, my 4-year-old little nephew comes and plops down right beside me. Smiling as big as his face would let him, he loudly whispered, “Look at my new Bible Amy! I got it for Christmas!” He was so proud of his new gift that undoubtedly weighed almost as much as he did.

“That is amazing Andrew! Let me see!”

We flipped through the pages for a few minutes to get the full scope of how cool his new gift really was. I couldn’t help but notice how the excitement for his new Bible never wore off through the entire service. He held it right in front of him every time we stood up, he cradled it in his lap when we sat down, and he flipped through the pages when the pastor (his Papa) was preaching.

This sweet little boy made me pause and reflect:

“Lord, help me cherish Your word like that! Remind me of how precious it is to have Your Living Word in my hands, that I can hold it close to my heart and it (You) excite my soul.”

My soul longed for Andrew. For him to fall in love with God’s word, for him to always cherish his new Bible the way he was at the moment, for him to realize what a precious gift he had truly received.

Watch out world! If this 4-year-old does that, he will change this world! He will be a person God could use to speak to a lost generation; he could be a daddy who loves his children and passes God’s word on to them; he could be a lawyer who stands for real truth and justice; he could be a high school kid who stands firm in the wake of trials and temptations; he could be someone who shines the light of Christ in a dark world; he could… be used by God.

Do you want to be used by God this new year? I know I do.

Then may we cherish His Word more this year than we did last year! May we get excited to read and study it! May we show others, as Andrew did, the joy we have found in God’s Holy Word.

May we pursue His Word more in 2017 than we did in 2016, because that is a Worthy Pursuit!