The illustration is never as good as the imagination. We\u2019ve\nall seen a picture, photo, play, or film that illustrates a prized work of\nliterature and been quite disappointed in the actual portrayal of the scene or\nthe character. Our God-given imagination far outplays the human ability to\nportray it. I think this is one reason faith is such an important part of\nreading the Scripture. Each of us has his own desire for what is perfect and\nprecious. A former pastor of mine used to tell of his dreams of Heaven which\nincluded massive fields of strawberries. We\u2019ve all pictured our mansion in\nglory in our imaginations. Mine has a huge veranda covered with gorgeous\nflowers that never fade, wilt, or die. And there\u2019s no Georgia red clay in the\nsoil!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But my original premise that the imagination is far better\nthan any illustration is my point. Readers in younger grades have oodles of\npictures on every page, but when they arrive at the upper grades, the reading\nincludes few illustrations. I think there may be some overkill in the younger\nreaders rather than a lack of edutainment (my word, not in Webster\u2019s) in the\nupper level reading. I\u2019m not opposed to pictures or photos. I actually think\nhistory books ought to contain more actual photos, maps, etc., for the sake of\nfactual portrayal. However, when reading, especially fiction, the imagination\nis the best! Think about a favorite book of yours and what kind of images you\nconjured as you read the descriptive passages. Did you later see pictures or a\nplay about that book and experience some disillusion over the scenes? You\nprobably did. I\u2019ll never forget being captivated by a commercial about romance\nwith a handsome prince (I thought I had married the only one!). My mind\nimmediately created a million images. Then the representation appeared on the\nscreen: a horribly unkempt male with the curb appeal of a hairy frog. It was a\nmargarine commercial! I\u2019ll never be able to buy that brand, but every time I\nneed a good example of something disgusting, I refer to the \u201cButter Boy.\u201d I\u2019ll\nkeep the Prince I have, thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep the imagination alive and active, rather than providing\nyour students every image. Let your students read a passage of the Bible and\nthen illustrate it themselves by drawing a picture of what they imagine. After\nthey finish, ask them if they were able to draw a picture that was as good as\nwhat they imagined. Compare pictures throughout the class in order to see how\nvaried our minds can be. Describe a passage of a book with words and then try\nto draw what your mind envisions. Let\u2019s make more use of imagination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7913","eutychus-article","type-eutychus-article","status-publish","hentry","category-eutychus"],"yoast_head":"\n