The Ten commandments

Francoise and Odens are now married, but they have a lot to learn about family life and teaching their 4 children about the things of God.

So I started with the basics by spending some time talking about the 10 commandments with Odens and cncouraging him to share what he learned with Francoise and the children.

So he has started to do this and yesterday he told me a story of how God is working through His Word in their family: Emmanuel, who is now 5, was fighting with a friend. So Odens explained that we fight when we are angry and if we don’t deal with our anger quickly and in the right way, and can ultimately lead us to kill someone. He told him Jesus told us to love our enemies and treat our neighbors as we would want to be treated. But we need Jesus’ help to obey. So little Emmanuel got down on his knees and asked Jesus to forgive him and to help him obey and love his friend he was fighting with, and tears started streaming down his little cheeks!

Odens may not know the Bible as well as we do, but he is putting what he knows into practice with his family. As James says:

1: 22-25 “22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”