“Puddle water is the best,” says Jack.

Those of you who follow my blog will know about our dog, Jack.  What a fun character he is, and how we love having him.  He brings great joy to our lives.  We love taking care of him.  His blankets are regularly washed, his nails are kept cut, his teeth and hair brushed.  If he needs the vet, there is no hesitation to take him.  Everyday he gets wholesome food and fresh water.  Why then, I ponder, does he seem to love puddle water the best?

He runs through the fields or walks around the neighbourhood, never missing a few slurps from a puddle along a muddy path or filled up in a pothole in the road!  “Jack,” I say, knowing he understands my every word, “you have fresh water at home.”  He goes on slurping in every puddle along the way.

Dogs will be dogs, and people will be people.  You and I do the exact same thing, don’t we, in our spiritual worlds?  Paul tells us in Romans 8:32 that our Heavenly Father who “spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us, will freely give us all things.”  What does this mean exactly?  Remember, this is written, not about a physical concept, but about a spiritual one.  So what does our Father give us in our spiritual worlds?  To name a few: peace that passes all human understanding, his strength when we are weak, comfort when we grieve, sense of safety in His arms when we are afraid, courage, joy, guidance…the list is long.

Since He gives us all these wonderful things, why do we so often succumb to drinking from dirty puddles this world offers us?  Nothing in this world can give peace like our Father gives, or guidance like the Holy Spirit can, or joy that seems impossible in the midst of the greatest grief.  Even so, we see a puddle, are tempted by what it seems to offer, and we drink.

Oh, how I thank Father for His grace — undeserved but always given when I open my heart before Him, declare my actions of dirty puddle slurping, and ask His forgiveness once again.  He knows my heart.  He knows I don’t really enjoy puddles like I delight in His Words.  His words make me like, as it says in Psalm 1, “a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in due season; the leaves never withering, prospering (spiritually) in all I do.”

Today, if you’re tempted by a puddle, walk on by.  Drink from the Living Water instead.  It’s out of this world, fresh, and never runs dry.