October 28

Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” — John 4:10 BSB

The Samaritan woman at the well had no idea who was sitting beside her that day. She didn’t realize that the lowly peasant she saw was the one who could change her life. If she had known, there’s no blessing she couldn’t have asked for and received from Him. A little later, she did learn who He was, and she received a life-changing blessing.

We often miss life’s greatest gifts because we don’t recognize them when they are right in front of us. As the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Every common bush is aflame with God, but only those who see take off their shoes; the rest sit around and pluck blackberries.”

Life offers us many gifts—bread, kingdoms, stars—but many of us only take a few small things, missing the glorious treasures we could have. If we only realized how close Christ is to us at all times, we wouldn’t go through life missing out on His blessings.