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Monday, January 28, 2008
The Jesus Storybook Bible
Since Anna first arrived on the scene, Brenda and I have received numerous children's Bibles or story books. Most of these Bibles tell the stories of scripture in clean, nice and moralistic ways. Some have good illustrations, but some make me gag because they make it all so pretty. Yes they're helpful tools for learning the Biblical story and for that reason I think that they serve a purpose. But when I read a lot of these children's Bibles I'm shocked and frustrated by their theology. They reduce the Bible to no more meaning that Aesop's Fables. I might as well read "The Tortoise and the Hare" to my children because the message is as strong as some of these children's Bibles.
So what is our Bible, a collection of moral fables, or the story of a Redemptive God who wants to be in relationship with his creation and with humanity?
That's why I love the "Jesus Storybook Bible." It's tag line says that every story whispers his (Jesus') name. It does a great job of showing how each story is connected to a larger story; the story of the salvation, grace and hope we have through Jesus Christ. When we view all the stories of scripture through such a lens, we need not worry about trying to make the individual stories of the Bible "nice" and "pretty." The world is not nice and pretty and it's ok to prepare kids for this reality. But then in turn we focus them on the story of Jesus, a story that begins in creation, includes brokenness and suffering, and ends in victory!
That's our story, let's do our best to teach it to our children!