The current read-aloud in our home is “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White.
It is the story of a beloved pig named Wilbur who is saved from a Christmastime death by the friendship he has formed with a spider named Charlotte.
As we were reading, my girls were aghast at the first mention of Wilbur’s coming fate,
“There are a lot of things Wilbur doesn’t know about life,” she thought. “He’s really a very innocent little pig. He doesn’t even know what’s going to happen to him around Christmastime; he has no idea that Mr. Zuckerman and Lurvy are plotting to kill him.”
EA and MC responded with sad expressions and exclamations of “oh, no!” and “Fern’s going to be so upset!”
And then MC came up with a solution to Wilbur’s problem.
She said, “Well, Mr. Zuckerman is going to have to find another pig to kill so he doesn’t have to kill Wilbur.”
My husband took this opportunity to point out our own redemption story that is so similar to Wilbur’s.
You see, like Wilbur, we’re all destined for death.
We’re destined for this because of who we are.
We’re sinners.
We’ve fallen short of God’s perfection by our own nature and by the choices that we make every single day.
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” ~Romans 3:23
Just like Wilbur we don’t want to die.
Later in the story Wilbur finds out that his death is being plotted.
He is devastated. He cries out.
He pleads for help.
Just as Wilbur was loved, so are we.
We’re loved by God.
Loved beyond measure.
Loved unconditionally.
Loved sacrificially.
And just like Wilbur, a way for our salvation has been provided.
MC was onto something when she suggested that Mr. Zuckerman should kill another pig in Wilbur’s place.
God gave Jesus, his one and only Son…His perfect and beloved Son…to die in our place.
Jesus took upon himself the death that we deserve.
The Bible says in John 3:16
God loved the world in this way; He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
This is a very familiar verse of scripture.
I pray that it is not so familiar that we lose the meaning and the wonder of it.
So, what do we do with this?
We have two choices, really…
We can continue on in our sin, ignoring the wonderful gift we have been given.
Or we can accept this gift of salvation.
In accepting this gift we must turn away from our sin and turn to Jesus as our Savior.
The Bible gives us wonderful news in Romans 10:9
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
You will be saved from your fate of death!
We all have the opportunity, like Wilbur in the story, to avoid the death that we are destined for. We only have to accept the sacrifice that God provided through his Son’s death.
Who knew that a simple read-aloud story could so clearly demonstrate God’s redemptive story of grace. I am so thankful for the time that we spend as a family reading together. It has provided so many wonderful conversations and opportunities to share!
homegrown Strawberries says
Wonderful analogy. My daughter and I just had a long talk about redemption and pawn shops.