Caleb picked up his Bible from the desk and joined her at the fire. “Have you had any religious training?”
She shrugged. “We attended church with some regularity. I have to admit, however, that it was all beyond me. The minister talked of one thing and another, and it always seemed so confusing. I was never able to figure out what it was all about, and no one in my family seemed even remotely interested in explaining it to me.”
“Pity. But we’ll rectify that as best we can. Do you know who Jesus is?”
“Of course. They call him the Son of God. He was born in a manger, and that’s why we celebrate Christmas.”
“Do you understand the concept of sin?”
She shrugged. “I suppose I do as well as the next person. Sin is ... well, evil. I suppose to a religious person it would be doing anything but sitting and praying and reading your Bible.”
Caleb chuckled. “Not exactly. Christians can do a great many things besides praying and reading and still avoid sin. You see, God created man in a perfect state. He made Adam and Eve as the first man and woman and placed them in a beautiful garden. Life was perfect and all was well. But then things changed.”
“Oh yes. I recall hearing about Eve eating an apple that God had forbidden.” Victoria tried her best to appear interested. “The serpent told her to eat it, right?”
“Yes. The serpent, or Satan, convinced her that she hadn’t heard God correctly—that it wouldn’t really be wrong. Satan is still doing that to each of us. He whispers in our ear that it isn’t really wrong to lie or cheat. That it’s not really a sin if we forsake God. His entire purpose is to separate us from God. That’s what sin does. It separates us from God.”
“So is there a list of rules we can follow? Something that tells us what is a sin and what isn’t?” She shifted in her chair, letting her robe open even more. “I know there are those ten commandments. Is that what I have to follow?”
Caleb smiled and opened his Bible. “Once, when Jesus was speaking to a group of people—most of whom were quite knowledgeable about the commandments God had given—one of them asked which commandment was most important.”
“What did Jesus say?” She leaned forward, hoping she looked enticing.
“Let me read his answer to you.” Caleb flipped several pages. “‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’”
She shook her head and laughed without meaning to.
Caleb looked at her with a raised brow. “What’s funny?”
“I couldn’t do that. I could maybe love God, but my neighbors were boring, insipid people who always complained about one thing or another.” She frowned. “Although I suppose now that their house has burned down, I don’t know who my neighbors are. But I certainly cannot love them as I love myself.”
“Your neighbors are everyone around you. God wants you to show love to everyone, Victoria. Not because they’re rich or poor, beautiful or plain. If you love others, then you won’t be inclined to act against them in sin. You won’t want to lie to them or steal from them. This is why Jesus spoke the way He did. When you love God, you will do whatever you can to please Him, which means avoiding acts of selfishness or self-centered desires.”
She vaguely recalled hearing all of this before, but since it wasn’t something she could ever imagine doing or even wanting to do, Victoria had disregarded it. However, this was important to Caleb, and if she was going to win his trust, she would have to pretend.
She put on a look of sorrow. “I could never be that good.”
“No one could, Victoria. That’s why God sent His Son, Jesus.”
Caleb seemed to be waiting for her to say something. “I don’t understand.”
He nodded. “He knew we needed someone who could account for the sins of the world—our sins. We could never be good enough or offer enough sacrifices and prayers to be forgiven all our sins, so our heavenly Father sent His only Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for us all. We can never be perfect, but we should strive to live our lives to please God. Having Jesus helps us to do that.”
“That was very nice of God to do that,” she finally replied.
“It was amazingly nice—it was a sacrifice of love. We can’t hope to have eternal life unless we accept Jesus as our Savior and allow Him authority over our lives.”
“I see.” Victoria looked into the fire, wondering how much longer he would drone on about God.
“Victoria, remember how I told you that I found peace in God’s love? I can’t imagine how you must feel without having Him to turn to. You see, I was raised by parents who believe God’s Word and helped me find Him at a very young age. I’ve always known Him, it seems.”
She could hear by the tone of his voice that this was very special to him. She nodded. “You were very fortunate. My parents were never with me very much. I had a nanny to raise me and see that I did what was proper. I don’t think she knew much about God.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. You lost your mother when you were very young, didn’t you?”
Victoria steeled her heart. “Yes. It was the hardest thing I ever dealt with.”
“I can’t even imagine. Your pain must have been great. I’m sure it’s still painful to recall.”
