Redeemed for a Reason

After witnessing the young bride’s amazing recovery, the village people packed up their meager belongings and followed the map to the clear, rocky spring. When they arrived, the old man once again appeared. “Where is my son?” he asked.

“Your son?” The people looked around, confused.

“I sent him to live among you. In his heart, I put the way to this spring, knowing that he would someday use it to heal you at the cost of his own life,” the old man explained.

“The young bridegroom?” they asked, “Was that your son? He gave us a map. We followed that map and find ourselves here, but your son did not live.”

The old man took a shuddering breath, as if for a moment he felt the intensity of that statement. Eyes of compassion and love lifted to them as he said, “It is as it should be. He and I are the same. He is now of this spring as I am of it.”

“May we stay?” they asked, not fully comprehending the old man’s statement, but eager to obtain the healing water of the spring. “Our people were dying in the desert, but this water is healing.”

“Yes,” the old man said. “You may stay on two conditions. One, you must give this water to all who need it, whether friend or enemy. If you hear of others suffering from the same water sickness as you once did, you must share the healing waters of this spring with them too. And second, you must tell all who drink of this spring the story of my son. Then I will know my son did not give his life in vain.”

Years passed, and the villagers settled into their new home. The healing waters of the spring brought forth trees and vegetation of all kinds. They built houses and farmed the fertile land, and they prospered. Every now and then, someone would come stumbling out of the desert, and keeping their promise, they welcomed him or her into the village.

Soon the village grew so large that it became crowded and difficult to get to the spring to draw water. One of the villagers decided to dig a channel from the spring outward, to see if, when the evening came, the mystical spring would fill the channel as well as the pool. That evening, as the spring bubbled to life, the pool began to rise. After the pool was filled, water spilled into the channel, following its twists and turns, filling it completely. The people were amazed. No longer were they crowded around the little spring. They could now dig riverbeds that would allow the healing waters to flow outward, reaching all those who needed it.

Within days, rivers stretched out like fingers from all sides of the rocky spring. The people organized themselves by ability. Some were diggers, some recruiters, some trainers, some haulers, and some scouts, looking for the best direction to take the river. All day they labored hard together under the hot sun. In the evening, when the spring bubbled forth, they gathered to see the healing water rush and dance down the newly dug riverbeds. They watched in amazement as the waters touched the dry earth and instantly brought forth vegetation. They splashed in the water and lay in the lush grass that ran alongside the river. Some thought of the son and his bride, of the love that made this possible, but others were content just to sit by the river’s edge and enjoy the breeze turned cool by the water.

As the years passed, the village grew and grew in all directions. The larger it grew, the more it seemed that strangers came stumbling out of the desert to see it. Some stayed, but others took a few sips and returned home. Seeing these desert people come from all directions in their sickened state, the villagers were reminded of the old man’s words. They came together to propose a plan to dig riverbeds far and wide in hopes of reaching the sickened camps. Because their village was so large, they decided to divide the village into four parts. They gave each part a different name…