Water of Life

"Hey!" said Zoe. "What's wrong with the water?" She turned the kitchen faucet knob as far as she could, but all she got was a sputtering sound. She groaned. "I'm so thirsty!""When I got home from work, I found a notice on the door saying the city water department would be working on our street today," said Mom. "If I'd known earlier, I would have filled some containers. There's still some juice in the fridge."Zoe grabbed the juice and poured all of it into a large glass. She chugged it greedily, then smacked her lips. "That was good.""Did you save any for Mikey?" asked Mom, looking up from a pile of mail.Zoe looked at the empty juice container. "Whoops."When Zoe's brother Mikey got home a few minutes later and found out there was nothing to drink, he groaned and staggered to a chair. "Water! Water!" he cried weakly.Zoe laughed. "You don't have to be so dramatic about it."Mom went to answer a knock at the door, and a minute later Molly, their next-door neighbor, walked in with a gallon of water. "I thought you might be needing this," she said.Mikey eagerly poured water into a glass and drank it, then sighed with satisfaction. "Oh, thank you, Molly," he said, clasping his hands together. "You saved my life!""Oh, brother!" groaned Zoe. "Here we go again!""Well, a person dying of thirst can be saved by getting a drink of water," said Mikey. "Isn't that why Jesus is called the Living Water? Because He can save people who are dying?""That's a very good point," said Mom. "People have a spiritual thirst that's even greater than the thirst for water. We have a thirst for love, for joy, for forgiveness--for God. A drink of water can save us from physical death, and Jesus, the Living Water, can save us from spiritual death. But what if you hadn't taken the water Molly offered you, Mikey?""I'd still be thirsty," said Mikey.Mom nodded. "The same thing goes for us if we don't take the Living Water that Jesus offers. It's free and brings everlasting life--but only to those who accept it!" –Trudy VanderVeen