At school my husband and I taught a lesson about God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Genesis 2:9 The children heard how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and because of that, friendship with God was broken, Genesis 3:1-24. The children learned that God always had a plan to rectify the situation
We thought the lesson had gone pretty well, even though I saw some of the children struggling to understand how God could send His Son to make things right again by dying on the cross. In our class, few of these children go to church or Sunday school – about 6 out of a class of around 30, so these truths from the bible are new to many of them.
After we’d had our bible story, a recap involving questions about the story, prayer and singing He Died upon the Cross, the children went to their activities. One of the children called me over. ‘You know what I learned today, Mrs. Harcombe?’ this six year old said.
‘No.’ I waited wondering what was coming.
‘Never to listen to a snake,’ he said, his face completely serious.
I reinforced the point that we need to listen to and obey God. But the boy’s simple remark made me think. How often do you and I listen to the snake instead God? How often do we let Satan get into our minds and tell us not to do something God wants us to do? Or to do something that God specially has commanded us not to do? How often do we say things we know we shouldn’t, watch things we know God would not like us watching, etc.
Being a Christian is not a Sunday thing. It is a 24 hour a day 7 days a week lifestyle of following and obeying God. It is listening to God’s voice and not that of the snake, Satan, who would seek to deter us from God’s way.
We won’t be able to distinguish God’s voice unless we know Him intimately and take time to read His Word regularly.
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