No Matter What by Debi Gliori does not use “spiritual” language. It never mentions God, Jesus or the church. And yet, its message beautifully conveys the essence of God’s grace. In this case, a picture book is worth a thousand words (even though it contains far fewer.) Here is a book that all church libraries should have.
The book has two characters, illustrated as foxes, whose only names are Large and Small. Through simple text and beautiful watercolor illustrations, we learn that Small is feeling “grim and grumpy”. Does Large still love Small even in this mood? Large’s response echoes the title of the book, “I’ll always love you, no matter what?” Large’s reassurance leads to several scenarios of “Would you love me if…?” As we would expect, Large’s answer never varies.
The interactions between Small and Large immediately bring to mind a parent-child relationship. (No doubt this is what the author intended.) Parents will appreciate the book as a way to assure their children that they will always love them.
However, the book’s usefulness extends beyond parental love. I would guess that no matter our age, we have all felt like Small at some point, questioning the constancy of someone’s love. And isn’t Large’s answer the assurance that grace provides us about God’s love? Children (and adults for that matter) may not completely comprehend the concept of grace. Here is a message that is understandable: “God loves us. God will always love us. No matter what.”
Personally, when using this book to talk about God’s love, I would add one more thought to Large’s message: “And there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop God from loving you.”
~Sally Hoelscher