A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Kristin Stiles
I love a clever book. And this is a very clever book! Seeing that it was written by Sinclair Ferguson, I immediately knew that the theology would be spot on, but I wasn’t sure how it would be conveyed to children. Masterfully. It was conveyed masterfully.
Dr. Ferguson takes his readers on a time-traveling adventure. He starts with the present-day and quickly transports us back through time. As we get further back, we enter the time period that is recorded in Scripture. Simple illustrations and descriptions give us a glimpse of Bible stories that we know so well. These glimpses hint at some of the evil present in the world, but in a very subtle way until we get to Adam and Eve being driven out of Eden for their disobedience.
The reversal of time doesn’t stop there, though. Back before Eden, before creation, there is a conversation that is overheard. It is the discussion amongst the Persons of the Trinity as to the plan for rescuing man when, not if, he sins. God the Father states the plan. God the Son submits to the plan. God the Holy Spirit supports the plan with His guarantee that He will help people to understand the plan and how they can be saved from their sin.
Time shifts. It now goes forward. We again see snippets of Bible history, but this time, the perspective is on how “the plan” is being implemented. Throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament, we see how the Trinity is carrying out this plan of salvation with a climactic scene at the empty tomb. As the plan continues to unfold, we see the message of the gospel spread throughout the world to here and now. The readers are then challenged to continue spreading the greatest plan ever.
What a marvelous book! It dispels the idea that God had to come up with a plan B after Adam and Eve sinned. It reveals God’s great sovereignty and His great love. It provides a wonderful opportunity for parents to teach and review the many Bible stories mentioned throughout this book. Most importantly, however, it presents the gospel in a way that a child can understand it.
Kristin Stiles is a home-school mom, a Sunday School teacher, and helps lead the “Young, Reading, & Reformed” children’s ministry at Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA.
Buy the books
THE MAGNIFICENT TIME MACHINE, by Sinclair B. Ferguson