I remember shopping for a picture Bible for my kids. I basically had one criteria: How does it depict the crucifixion?
I didn’t want to terrorize my kids with anything too graphic…
But I also was not okay with three tiny cross silhouettes on a distant hill and a brief sanitized sentence or two.
I wanted to make sure their Bible, like my Bible, communicated appropriately the suffering sacrifice of our Christ. I wanted that part of the story to be hard. For it to hurt their hearts. For it to cause conversation and introspection about how bad our sin is but how fierce our God’s love is.
I wanted the story of the crucifixion to help them believe the gospel. To trust and worship Jesus and follow Him as Lord forever.
Carefully choosing a picture Bible to read to your kids can help set up beautiful, sacredly-serious conversations with your child. It would be appropriate for them to hear how you responded when you first heard these stories. What was it like when you turned from your sin and turned toward Jesus? What kind of Lord and friend has He been to you?
If you are wondering what Bible I chose for our littles back in early 2000s, it was this one: Gold and Honey Bible. But these days I always recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible. 🙂
Cheering you on as you lead spiritually in your home.
