The Story of Martin Luther: The Monk Who Changed the World

Brief overview: 

Learn about the life of Martin Luther and how God used this ordinary monk to get the Bible into the hands of regular people.

Recommended age range: 8-13

Strengths: 

• Story provides depth to the story of Martin Luther for middle grade readers.
• Engaging way to learn about Martin Luther and unpack some lesser known facts about his life.
• Luther is presented as a real person who struggled with fear, but ultimately relied upon the Lord and turned to Scripture.

Additional Notes:

• The book opens with a thunderstorm scene where Martin Luther is worried about dying. If your kid struggles with the concept of death, this can be scary. But encouraging the kid to press on together because Luther learns how to no longer be fearful of death can be a useful tool.
• When learning about the different beliefs of the Catholic Church and Luther's battle with these, I found it useful to mention how those beliefs compare to what is in the Bible. (A good strategy when learning about any different worldview.)
• I was given a free copy of this book from Crossway to provide an honest review.

Chasing the Ordinary Life

I shiver on the sidelines of an early morning January soccer game. Sporting fleece-lined jeans, my trusty winter jacket, and a stocking hat, I’m only just staying warm enough to watch my son’s game.

The coach calls my son off the bench to sub in. I overhear the plan to send him on to replace a midfielder, a position geared to assist with both offense and defense.

Joy spreads across my boy’s face and his back straightens. Despite being the top scorer on his recreational soccer team this past fall, since landing on the winter soccer team he’s only played defense.

A defensive player from our team gets knocked down. The game pauses and the coach walks over to help the player off the field. The teammate is fine but needs a break.

The coach tells my son to go in for the defensive player instead. My heart sinks along with my son’s chance to play offense today.

While I’m a big fan of defensive players, my son is less so. Most of us couldn’t name one outstanding center-back, but can recognize the names of the top strikers in the world of soccer.

After the game my son remarks, “Everyone else on the team got to play offense, except me.” He’s not wrong.

Our desire to be the best, or at least occupy an advantageous position, is strong. We don’t like to feel overlooked or limited in our options. Our culture encourages us to strive for greatness—to be the fastest, smartest, or most talented at something.

And whether it’s myself or my kids, reconciling this pull with the reality of being ordinary feels like whiplash.

Read my full article on Gospel-Centered Discipleship.