God created us to be part of his family. Throughout all of history, God established covenants with his people as a way of gathering them into his family. A covenant is a promise of faithfulness. God gave us the Ten Commandments to help us be faithful to our side of the covenant and to live well as members of God's family. Sometimes we think of the Ten Commandments as a bunch of rules, but if we remember that God truly wants us to live well and to be happy, we can simply see them as guidelines for how to live our best life.

Did you ever think of the 10 Commandments as a gift from God?  We know that Jesus was sent so God could experience everything that we experience in life- even anger. Jesus was angry that people were making His Father’s house a marketplace. That didn’t show respect for God. When he was asked to show a sign of His authority to speak out about the temple’s use, Jesus replied “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus was talking about another gift from God. The gift of His Only Son, who would suffer, die, and be raised up in order for our sins to be forgiven. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all people kept our covenant with God and showed their thankfulness for Gods’ greatest gifts!