Our 9-year-old daughter came home from Sunday school with a story. Her teachers had asked her darling 4-year-old cousin to hoist a backpack, jammed with seminary textbooks, up onto her shoulders and carry it across the room. Try as she might in front of the whole class, it wasn’t happening, and the girl tearfully said as much.
That’s when the teachers rushed to the rescue and affirmed that although we cannot carry the impossible burden of sin, Jesus can carry it for us.
This image lingered in our family’s mind for years and became one of the many gospel illustrations we used at home.
Teach with Pictures
I was always the kid who needed a picture to grasp a concept, and children today are no different. We’re raising the next generation in a visually inundated world. So, in addition to words, we need visuals to help with understanding and retention.
My heart’s first cry for my children was that they’d be with me for eternity. As a young mom, I tried to come up with creative ways to help them understand and retain salvation truths. Just as illustrations help children understand a story, pictures or object lessons help them understand the gospel.
Springing off the backpack object lesson, I had them try to jump across a rug, something impossible for their little legs. They learned that all fall short—in the living room and of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). We also got out our art supplies and drew lots and lots of simple pictures: of narrow paths versus broad roads, and of the cross bridging the chasm between God and us.
Facets of the Gospel
No single picture gave my kids the whole gospel. Each exercise was an attempt to teach a small facet of gospel truth, split into bite-sized pieces. Every image, while distinct, complements other scriptural images, creating a unified whole like an expertly cut diamond. When they’re put together, the brilliance of the whole shines.
No single picture gave my kids the whole gospel. Each exercise was an attempt to teach a small facet of gospel truth.
John Stott explains in his classic work The Cross of Christ, “The blessings of ‘such a great salvation’ (Heb 2:3) are so richly diverse that they cannot be neatly defined. Several pictures are needed to portray them.”
We often try to condense too much into one simplistic presentation. It’s so encouraging to shift our approach and instead present the many facets of the gospel, one picture at a time. Jesus frequently taught in this way: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field” and “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls” (Matt. 13:44–45). The kingdom is like this. And it’s like this. And it’s also like this. If adults need word pictures, kids will benefit from something even more tangible.
Salvation in Stick Figures
Let’s look at some salvation doctrines you can illustrate with your child today.
Tell your child, “Let’s look at the Bible and see one thing Jesus has done for us.” Then break out your crayons and have your child draw an enormous treasure found buried in a field. Dig for that gold crayon to make it sparkle!
Another fun idea is to grab that most prized office supply, the dry-erase marker, and use a window or bathroom mirror as your canvas. Have your child draw himself and add a big stain for sin. Then hand him the eraser to be wiped clean by Jesus. Or draw the gospel progression across a few cartoon panels. Start by drawing a stick-figure child looking into a house. By the last panel, she’s inside the house, welcomed by the father into her family.
If adults need word pictures, kids will benefit from something even more tangible.
Using a variety of biblical pictures to teach the gospel pushes us to discuss the whole truth, like the consequences of sin or our inability to be saved on our own. Supplying your kids with multiple facets of the gospel creates a foundation of sound doctrine they can build on as they grow.
Whether you’re loading up a backpack with books or drawing at your kitchen table, you can showcase what God is offering your children and the world. The beauty is in the good news, not in your drawings. Keep putting the gospel on display, starting with one bite-size piece today.
