Ned represents all of us before we accept Jesus into our life as our Lord and Saviour. Perhaps we can all relate to Ned's feelings of dissatisfaction, emptiness and meaninglessness at some point in our lives.

This is where Ned is at the beginning of the book - in his 'before Christ' life. In his search for Living Water, he meets Jade, a born-again Christian. Ned sees her genuine joy, freedom and hope and realises that this is what he was looking for. Afraid he cannot obtain this, Jade shares the good news about Mac, who is God.

Mac dwells within Jade, like how God dwells within His children. When life presents a crossroad, God will lead us. When we're faced with anxiety, God reminds us of His Word. All of this is only made possible through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross and His gift of the Holy Spirit - the golden tentacle.

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Through Jade's genuine faith and transformed life, she was able to minister to Ned, and Ned was able to minister to his friends, who were able to minister to their friends. And by God's grace, it goes on...

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

Going through the motions and emotions that come with life can be hard. However, it is up to us to mirror Christ to our children in the peaks and troughs of life. We can show our children how to be unapologetically Christ-like for the sake of advancing the Gospel.