It was 1931.
Sam was eight years old.The small town she lived in was experiencing
great trouble due to the current depression.
Her family, neighbors, and friends had little.
Her father died when she was a baby,
and her mother was very ill
due to extreme dehydration.
Contaminated water flowed through Sam's town
and if they were to drink the water, they could die
within days.
She had no brothers or sisters.
And the rest of her family lived
out of state.
One hot day,
Sam's mother asked her to go to the store
and get what little fresh water the store had left.
Sam took a small canvas sack to put the
jug of water in and walked 2 and 1/2 miles to the store.
Upon arriving, Sam was sweaty and dirty.
She walked up to the cashier and asked
for a jug of water.
The cashier placed the jug on the counter
and said, "that will be $0.20."
Sam looked into the cashier's eyes.
"But, I haven't got any money. My mother is sick
my father is dead. And if she doesn't
get a clean drink of water, she'll die."
The cashier shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I can't sell this to you."
Sam began to cry.
What was she going to do?
The city in which she lived had no clean water.
Except for what was on the counter in front of her.
But, she could not afford it.
Her mother was dying.
And Sam would soon die, too.
But this water would let them live.
She began to frantically pace the store.
Trying to think of what she could do.
Through her tear-filled eyes,
a leather boot caught her eye.
She looked up at a very tall Man standing beside her.
His clothes were torn much like hers.
His pants were worn and His hat had holes in it.
But His eyes sparkled in delight
and His smile lit up the room.
The Man said to Sam, "get up."
Sam stood up and nearly broke her neck
trying to figure out who this Man was.
Mostly, she wondered what such a joyful Man
was doing talking with such a sad girl.
He was clearly from out of town.
Sam followed Him to the counter
and watched as He placed His own money on the counter.
Sam's mouth dropped open and again her eyes
filled with tears.
The Man walked over to her with a jug of water
and placed it in her bag.
"T-t-thank you, Sir," Sam cried.
"You're welcome," said the Man, "just remember, this jug will become empty.
But if you drink of the cup I give, you will never thirst again."
She watched the Man walk out of the store,
and crawl into a small tent
underneath the nearby bridge.
He was homeless.
The next day,
the Man died.
He had starved to death.
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Two-thousand and twelve years ago,
a Man was crucified.
His blood was shed
which paid the debt for all of our insufficiencies.
Our insufficiencies which disabled us from paying for our own water,
water that allowed us to live.
No matter what Sam did,
she would never have been able to afford that water.
So instead, the Man gave His life.
So that she could live.
Forever.
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
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