River of Life

Markus stumbled through the dense overgrowth, his breathing growing heavy.
The weight of the illness inside him grew heavier with each step, but he
knew he had to keep trekking… his life depended on it.

.

Every person alive had been born with the same illness Markus had. Some
didn’t mind the dense feeling it left inside their bodies, but Markus had
been looking for a cure for as long as he could remember, something to ease
the pain. There had been the journey to the Creek of Wealth, and the hike
to the Lagoon of Lust, but none had worked. Their waters had numbed the
pain momentarily, but quickly made it worse than it had been before. Markus
knew that each cure he’d tried came from the Torrent of Sin. The varying
distributaries sported different names and appearances, but each had the
same outcome—slow and sure death.

.

When Markus first heard of the River of Life, he could hardly believe it.
He packed all his belongings and set out to find it. His friends laughed,
likening his quest to the age-old search for the fountain of youth. But
Markus knew it was something more.

.

Pulling the map from his rucksack, Markus smiled. He was almost there.
Pushing himself to keep walking up the path, he gasped as he took in the
view at the top. A beautiful river spurted from a hill where a man stood.
As Markus approached, the man opened His arms and said, “Come to me, and
drink.” Markus sank down, drinking as much of the water as he could, then
rolled onto his back. The weight of illness inside him evaporated, and he
knew that this man had healed him. He would never be thirsty again. • Lily
Walsh

.

• In this allegorical story, who was standing by the River of Life? (Hint:
read today’s Bible passages again.)

.

How can we drink the water He gives? (Find out more on our “Know Jesus”
page.)

.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but
whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I
give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal
life.” John 4:13-14 (NIV)

Read Verses:

John.4.13-John.4.14|John.7.37-John.7.39|Rev.22.1-Rev.22.5