Most Bible storybooks for children include similar stories of people who exhibited great faith and courage – or a lamentable lack of either! Unlike the titles published years ago, however, today’s storybooks often show God’s people as admirable but flawed human beings, who sometimes reflect and sometimes conflict with the ongoing love, goodness, justice, mercy, and forgiveness of our unchanging God.
To emphasize this contrast even more, “A Letter to Parents” in The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook from B&H Publishing clearly states: “’Be good’ is not the message of the Bible. ‘Be saved’ is.” While human heroes come and go, God The Hero remains.
As any child knows, of course, a Hero rescues, protects, and takes care of what needs tending – just as God did from the moment sin ruined the perfection created in the beginning. So, from the beginning, God planned a timely redemption through the sacrificial life, death, and resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
To show this so children can follow the time sequence and see how God’s plan fits together from Genesis to Revelation, each page of these Bible stories includes the unique feature of the “Christ Connection.” For example, the story, “God Created the World and People,” makes this connection: “Colossians 1:15-22 reveals that Christ is ruler over all of God’s creation. All of creation was created through Him, by Him, and for Him. Everything was created to give glory to Christ, but people would choose not to give Him glory. The rest of the Bible reveals how Jesus would restore the relationship between God and man.”
That “Christ Connection” ends with a “Big Picture Question” for discussion and a “Big Picture Answer” too. In the story, “Obadiah the Prophet,” for example, the question, “What is pride?” receives the “Big Picture Answer: Pride is thinking you are better than others, and it steals glory from God.” Or, the story, “Jesus Christ Will Return,” asks the “Big Picture Question: Why will there be no need for a lamp in heaven?” then answers, “God’s glory will be its light and there will be no more night.”
This type of involvement helps the book live up to its name, but in addition, The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook offers an app to be downloaded for free. Then readers can scan the icon on each page and watch the illustration come to life online. With over 140 colorful, kid-appealing illustrations to choose from, children can interact with Bible story people as they interact with God, presenting us with our timeless stories too.
©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler
The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook from B&H Publishing
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