He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. (John 1:10-13)

When someone misses something right in front of them, we often laugh at the irony of how they could be searching so hard for something so obvious to find. Whether it is the person looking for their glasses on the top of their head or looking for the paper that is right in front of them on the counter, it seems so silly that someone could miss something so obvious, but it happens more often than we would like to admit. We all miss what is right in front of us. In fact, this passage reminds us that even the Messiah that was God Himself was not recognized or accepted by everyone. They missed the Savior of the world had come into the world right in front of them. They missed the answer to their greatest need—the answer to the problem of sin but also to give them new life with God.

As Christians, it’s easy to read this passage and wonder how people could miss something so wonderful but to do that we would miss out on the opportunity for our own reflective moment. Even after we have received Christ, there are ways we can continue to grow in seeing that reality of being children of God. We see over time how it transforms the small moments of frustration we wrestle with or the big decisions we make. We are all still growing in seeing and savoring this Messiah into every area of our life. May we take an opportunity this Advent to reflect on where we have missed what is obvious right in front of us. We know this hope of Jesus, and it has saved us but where are we missing out on seeing the fullness of that blessing because we are determined to see things our own way?

• Why do you think so many people missed Jesus? Why do you miss Jesus at times?
• What is special about getting to be a child of God? What are some areas of your life that still do not reflect this reality of being God’s child?
• Pray and ask God to open your eyes to where you are missing accepting Him.