Larry is six years old, and he is learning to read. When I was visiting him, I saw a grocery ad on his table. “Larry, look here—I think you can learn some of these words.” I pointed to a word that had a picture beside it, and he told me the word was “bananas.” He was right! The picture helped him understand what the letters said. He also learned “tomatoes” and “grapefruit” when I pointed to them. Then I saw another word that he could learn, and I told him that word was “Texas,” but there was no picture with it.
This short reading lesson reminded me that God has filled His Word, the Bible, with word pictures. The Lord Jesus used many of them when He was here to help us understand who He is. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. This means that He has always been the Son of God and He always will be. When He came down from heaven to live on the earth, He became a man, even though He was still God. He knew this would be very hard for us to understand, so He gave us lots of word pictures to help us. He loves boys and girls and grown-ups too, so He wants us to know Him.
Do you know what bread is and what it is for? Of course you do! It’s something to eat when we are hungry. The Lord Jesus tells us in John 6:4141The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. (John 6:41) and 50, “I am the bread which came down from heaven” that “a man may eat thereof, and not die.”
Do you know what light does? Of course you do! It helps us to see. In John 8:1212Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12), Jesus says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
The Lord Jesus uses these everyday things which we all understand to help us learn about Him. He loves us and wants us to love Him, so He tells us these things about Himself.
The pictures helped Larry understand what the letters say. But when it came to the word “Texas” that didn’t have a picture, Larry had to trust me when I told him that “t-e-x-a-s” spelled Texas. You and I can understand more about the Lord Jesus by the word pictures He has given us. And this helps us to also trust and believe Him when He tells us that He wants to save us from our sins and then live with Him in heaven once our life here on earth is over.
ML-08/13/2017