Mother read a story from the children’s Bible to Nicholas and Laura, as she did every evening.
“Adam and Eve were very happy in the Garden of Eden until one day, they did something that God had forbidden them to do. God said to them: ‘You may eat from all the trees in this garden except for one.’ Eve looked at the fruit of this tree – it looked so delicious! Then she heard the serpent say: ‘Why don’t you take a little? It doesn’t matter.’ She couldn’t resist, picked the fruit, took a bite, and gave it to Adam, who also took a bite. Because of this disobedience, they had to leave the beautiful garden forever.”
“I don’t understand,” said Nicholas. “Why did they do that? There were so many other fruits that they were allowed to eat.” “I wouldn’t have done that,” Laura agreed. “I wouldn’t leave the beautiful garden for such a small thing.”
The next day was Saturday, and the children had the day off. Nicholas and Laura loved books and disappeared into the office after breakfast, where a whole bookshelf was waiting for them. They could spend hours there. But what was that? After just 10 minutes, a loud thump was heard from the office. Startled, Mother ran in to see.
Laura stood there wide-eyed and open-mouthed, staring at her brother who was lying on the floor and moaning. He had fallen off his chair. Next to him was a book from the top shelf that they were not allowed to take. Father had forbidden it. Mother helped Nicholas up again and looked sadly at the children without saying a word.
Fortunately, nothing happened to Nicholas. But that sad look from Mother hit him in the heart and hurt more than the fall. They were both so sorry. It was only when they had asked for forgiveness from Mother and Jesus that they felt better.
Nicholas and Laura had been disobedient like Adam and Eve and had taken what was forbidden. Now they could understand a little that it is not always easy to be obedient and that it makes others and themselves sad.
But there is a way to put things right again:
Jesus forgives and makes the heart happy again.
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