While my family and I were in Florida last month, we took advantage to experience Gatorland, literally a park designed to house thousands of alligators ranging from newly hatched to the big daddies. I was excited for the adventure but a little apprehensive at the same time. I mean, I’ve seen movies where you barely see their eyes and they SNAP their prey is eaten in one bite!
One such movie was when I was a teenager attending seminary. Seminary is a religion class that is set similar to Sunday school for high school aged children. I experienced attending every day at my local church building at 5:30AM; yep I’m one of those☺️ Anyways, the movie was called spiritual crocodiles. I remember a background commentator telling of the danger that antelopes, deer and other animals take as they near the waters of the alligators home for a quick drink. This is the only source of water for these animals but they fail to see the lurking danger, or at worst think they can take a quick enough sip and get out of harms way.
Unfortunately for most of the animals, there isn’t a happy ending as the creeping alligator waits for just the right moment to attack and NEVER loses grip until the prey has completely been devoured.
The narrator taught us that our lives are similar to the animals seeking water. When we’re thirsty, where do we turn to? Do we take the time to prepare to have enough safe sources of water in our lives or allow ourselves to get so parched that we’re willing to put ourselves into harms way to obtain in.
Let me relate that to constantly partaking of the living water, our Savior Jesus Christ. We have been given latter day prophets to lead and guide us to the purest, most desirable form of water possible. We have the Bible and Book of Mormon that contains God’s words and will lead us to answer the most complicated questions in our hearts. Yet why do we wait until we’re dying of thirst to reach for Him?
We must always have our canteens full of the living water of Jesus Christ to prevent us grappling for the worlds ways of refreshment. We WILL get eaten by the world and the ways of man if we don’t have our own source of pure, clean water.
Like the animals who waited too long for a safe source of water, we too can become lost and “eaten” by the less than desirable but readily available enticings of the world. These could include, comparison, envy, hate, judgment and jealousy. These are NOT forms of lasting strength and nourishment.
Partaking daily of the living water helps prevent future chances of being devoured by the filthy, ever enticing, worldly water.
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