A rainy day and an afternoon free from school screams opportunity. A few phone calls and rain spotted clothes later, I’ve got a group of our ‘tougher’ girls circled up for a Bible study. They were engaged to varying degrees with the story of the woman at the well found in John 4. However, one girl was repeatedly distracted by her cell phone. As my impatience grew, I asked her to leave the group, but she took a few moments to explain the situation. Friends of hers had just conducted some form of robbery at a local grocery store and were now running from the cops and looking for an apartment to hide. As the girls discussed alternatives and which apartment was available, I sat in disbelief. Part of me literally could not process the irony of the situation. They were in the middle of a Bible study either stowing away criminals or they were lying; in order to excuse the use of the cell phone. I’m not sure which one I hoped for. Either way, they agreed to finish the study and go home directly afterward.
As I pulled into the complex, it was like a bad movie scene. Cops were surrounding the parking lot and officers were staked outside one of the girl’s apartment. My heart sank, confirming that I actually would have preferred that they had been lying. In a whirlwind they jumped out of the van and went to face the music. I lingered long enough to ensure they were ok and then reluctantly drove off.
As I pulled away, the earlier teachings of the Samaritan woman ran through my head. How often do we look to be filled by the ways of the world, only to be disappointed and need to be filled again? How often is the living water, the word of God, offered freely right before us, yet we reject it and dip our bucket back into the world again?
That night as I turned on the 10 o’clock news, I watched as the police escorted three individuals from the apartment, with their hands bound behind them, empty...once again.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
Please join me in praying for this group of girls. They are pulled by the world, yet continue to be intrigued by the truth.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
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