Lent and Easter Books (Part 5): The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross

The story of The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton tells the story of the Bible,  focusing on the desire of humans to live in God's presence, and the problem of human sin that prevents this from happening. The book covers the entirety of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and it accomplishes this enormous task by using a framework of creation-fall-redemption-consumation. In other words, it is a good mix of biblical narrative and a basic Reformed worldview. 

As you might guess from the title, the story begins in the Garden of Eden, where "There was nothing bad, ever. There was no one sad, ever." But Adam and Eve decide they don't want God in charge anymore, and sin enters the world. So God has to send them out of the garden, away from their life with him. And he puts two angels at the entrance to the garden to keep humans from trying to reenter.

Because God still wanted humans live near him, he gave them instructions to build a temple where he would live, but he also told them to hang a curtain in front of the particular place within the temple where he would dwell. And on the curtain are angels, who send the same "keep out" message as the angels who guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden.

Fast-forward a long time, and the story tells of Jesus's birth and his visit to the temple as a boy. It tells of Jesus' desire for people and God to live together again, and this desire leads him to the cross. And perhaps the greatest strength of this book is the way it describes the purpose and meaning of the cross: Jesus dies on the cross because, just as in the Garden of Eden, people still didn't want God to be in charge, so Jesus took "all the bad things we do, and all the sad things they cause" onto himself. 

And at that moment, the curtain in the temple tore.

The story continues with the resurrection, and with the disciples' sadness turning to joy. They are so glad that they can again spend time in his presence! The book ends with the hope of the afterlife, with images of people being greeted by Christ at the heavenly gates and with Christ's second coming to earth. In that final age, we will finally be able to live eternally in the joy of his presence once again.

Final Thoughts

As I already mentioned, this book does a great job hitting some high points in the biblical story, and it traces the important biblical theme of God's presence and the (in)ability of humans to live in proximity to his presence. The way it describes the meaning and significance of the cross is especially good. If you're looking for a Gospel-centered children's book, this is a great option! 

The illustrations are also very engaging, with serious attention given to the details of each biblical scene that is included, mixed with a more cartoon-like style when a big emotion needs to be expressed (e.g., the priest realizing that the curtain is torn in the picture above!). It even includes some comic-strip style thought bubbles along the way. 

The one part of this book that is a bit lacking is in the events following Jesus' resurrection. At this point, the book skips over the giving of the Holy Spirit after Christ's ascension, who is with us always. And it says nothing of the role of the Church, the preaching of God's Word, the giving of the Lord's Supper, and other ways that we experience God's presence in this life. But this is the sort of thing I just ad lib along the way, and my kids are used to it. (I might say, "Even through there isn't a picture of it, did you know that we have Jesus' presence in the Holy Spirit? What do you think that means? What does it look like? And do we experience God's presence at church?" Etc. Etc.) It's an easy enough fix, and the book is overall an excellent choice for teaching kids not only during Lent and Easter, but throughout the Christian year.