Madison Avenue window display boy by @sallylloydjones (via IG)

Have you noticed the super powers small children wield?

One morning, I was riding the NYC subway when the doors opened and into the car walked a little child.

She was maybe 2.

Instantly, all of us—these defended New Yorkers, all avoiding eye contact, all guarding our space—were transformed. We smiled at her. At her mother. At each other.

Her gentleness disarmed us. Barriers of race and age and status vanished.

She changed everything. Just by being a child.

When people asked Jesus, “Who’s the greatest in your Kingdom?” Jesus showed them a little child and said, “Become like this little child.”

It’s not always all about what we teach children.

It’s about what they teach us.

Reading The Jesus Storybook Bible – photo by @gingercim

That’s something I’ve learned from writing for children. It keeps you honest. You have to dig deeper. Work harder. Understand it better. Your job is to distill—to take the profound and make it simple enough for a child to understand.

When I was writing THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE, I knew I couldn’t rely on jargon. A little child has no concept of what sin is, for instance. I would have to find other ways to describe it:

Sin is not just about breaking the rules, it’s breaking God’s heart; it’s like poison that makes your heart sick and stops it from working properly; it’s like running away from God and hiding in the shadows.

The funny thing is—if you write with the excellence that children deserve you reach everyone.

C S Lewis said:

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not
equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”

Excellence, it turns out, is the most inclusive thing. It’s been so exciting to see the ways that THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE has broken out of the boundaries typical for a children’s bible storybook. It is read by college students, theologians, pastors, couples; read in schools, prisons, old people’s homes, by prostitutes in China, by business men in Japan. (It’s so popular with adults that we had to give them their own edition: THE STORY OF GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU.)

Why would a children’s book reach adults in this way? I think it has something to do with that place inside of us that remains a child still, the place God loves to speak to us—the place where we are undefended, humble, open to wonder. Open to him. The place that tiny child spoke to us all, in that NYC subway car that morning.

In writing THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE I set out to capture the plotline of the Bible. As adults when do we ever hear that plotline? Even if we go to church regularly, we may never hear the whole story in one sitting.

the Story of God’s Love for You – photo by @conveyableflow

But when you distill the story down so that you can read it in one sitting, immediately it is startling. Because most of us think we know what the Bible is about—and it’s not good. We think it’s a book of rules you follow so God will love you. Or a book of heroes you copy so God will love you.

But it’s none of those things.

It’s most of all a Story.

The Story Of a God who breaks into History and comes down to rescue his children. A God who moves heaven and earth to be near them, to love them—though it would cost him everything he had.

The Story of a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure.

The Story of a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne—everything—to rescue the one he loves.

The Bible is simply this: THE STORY OF GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU.

And I don’t know anyone—young or old—who doesn’t need to hear that story.

May the God whose name is Love, who made you out of love for love, be whispering that love story to your heart this Easter.

The Jesus Storybook Bible & the Story of God’s Love for You by Sally Lloyd-Jones / Art by Jago

UPDATE! We’re now celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Jesus Storybook Bible with the release of a beautiful new gift edition! And kicking off next week is the anniversary tour sponsored by Compassion International— coming (hopefully) to a city near you.

Through stories and songs, Amy Grant, Sally Lloyd-Jones, and Ellie Holcomb explore God’s narration, inspiring the audience to recognize the Master Story He is telling in each of our lives.

Commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the beloved Jesus Storybook Bible – music, art and story come together onstage for an unforgettably intimate evening of worship and celebration.

*While kids are always welcome and we love and appreciate our youngest fans, the evening will appeal much more to their grown-ups.

**VIP tickets available for a meet and greet before the show!