Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to drive along the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to San Francisco. For the most part, it was a gorgeous drive with the crashing waves of the Pacific on one side and the rugged coastline on the other.

The middle part of the journey was a different story. California is undergoing a serious drought. The landscape shows it. The land is so parched in areas that it’s cracked open. In other areas, I drove over bridges where there were once raging rivers and flowing streams. Now, there’s not so much as a mud puddle. Everything is brown.

The irony is that there is a vast ocean right next to this parched land – millions of gallons of water. Unusable water. Salty, briny water that cannot ease the pain of the extreme thirst.

Similar to us. We have a desperate need, a gaping hole in our hearts that can only be filled with the fresh, living water of Jesus Christ.

Yet humanity tries to fill that thirsty cavern with the salt water of the world. The world’s offering looks good, just as the ocean sparkles blue and appears to be so refreshing. At first, it may even feel good to dive into the cool water and drink huge gulps. But as any sea captain will tell you, in a survival situation, drinking ocean water will only hasten death.

We can drink in the world and all it has to offer, but it will only lead to death. Jesus has promised us eternal living water. While the world is dying of thirst, He dwells within us and causes us to never thirst again.

How many times though, do we forget? How many times do we see the sparkling, shiny attraction of the world and drink it in? It may satisfy at first, but in the end we’ll only be left drier than before.

All the while, Jesus is calling. He is holding out to us the true living water.

…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ NKJV)