The Weekly Word Advent Series - A Devotion for the Third Week of Advent
Join us for the month of December as we offer a special Weekly Word devotion in honor of the Advent season. We invite you to make space in your heart, mind and soul as we wait with joyful anticipation for the coming of Christ.
This week’s scripture reading is from John 1:9-13
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
How often do we not recognize God in our midst? How often do we not receive the One who offers Himself to us time and time again?
It’s easy to judge the ancient Israelites for their spiritual blindness while we let ourselves off the hook. But the truth is, God is among us in endless iterations and in myriad ways, and we too pass Him by without a second glance.
We prefer to see God in the pretty, palatable parts of our world – in the sky painted in a brilliant palette at sunset; in an inspiring and uplifting worship service; in the joyous voices of our loved ones gathered around our table.
But God is also in the places we don’t like to look. He is at the bedside of the sick and the dying; He is in the slums of Calcutta and right here on the city streets where our own neighbors are struggling. He is in the prison cell, the homeless shelter, the soup kitchen. He is even in the person who rubs us the wrong way and in the person we’ve determined is no good.
The True Light that gives light is already here, in us and among us. As children of God, let us open our eyes and ears to recognize and receive God’s presence. And let us be His hands and feet on Earth, sharing His light and love with everyone who crosses our path.
Heavenly Father, forgive me for seeing You only where I want to see You. Help me look closer and deeper, Lord, so that I may recognize You where I least expect to find You. Amen.