As the sun was setting and the magnificent colors exploded across the sky, I laced up my new fluorescent pink Nike running shoes and walked down a path to the beach.
I began my run along the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan, trailing a few feet behind my friend. I closed my eyes and let the crisp, cool lake air kiss my face. The sound of the waves crashing along the shore filled the silence and my shoes soon became soaked with the chilly water. I ran with no goal or set time, my body craving the feeling of sweet, successful exhaustion.
I couldn’t help but praise God the entire run. As my breath evened and my pace steadied, I glanced back behind me and realized the water was washing away my footprints as fast as I was making them. As I turned back around, the sandy shores stretched for miles in front of me, like a blank slate. I had begun my run on the sand, but soon realized how much easier it is to run on the shoreline, as the ground is firmer.
Then it hit me. I realized how much of my life is like a run along the shore. I daily leave behind footprints of sin but God incessantly washes them away, leaving no stain or evidence behind. I realized the closer I am in my walk with Christ, the true living water, the easier He can wash away my sins and transgressions. Yet, when I am distracted from His path and begin to wander away, the turmoil of sand bogs me down and I cannot easily reach the living water.
“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 a them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” -John 4:13-14