Riddle in a Paradox by Rhonda Bronte Brown

Rhonda Brown						Faith-forward Picture Book Parable
1335 Montana Drive 						WC 450
Conway, AR 72034						
leighbrontebrown2@gmail.com
Word Press: https://brontebrown2.com/
X: @RhondaLBrown2 

Age Range: 5-8 years old
Faith-based/ Inspirational/ Read Aloud

Theme: This story explores the classic omnipotence paradox through a child’s conversation with God, revealing God's nature in a clear, relational way.
Story my not be sold or reproduced. It is on query.
Full Story below.
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A Riddle in a Paradox: 
A Conversation with the Father 
By Rhonda Bronte Brown


Pages 5 (Hook)
Some children grow up wrapped in hugs. 
Some hear bedtime stories every night.  
And some children wonder what love is supposed to feel like. 

Pages 6-7 (Hook to inciting moment)
One day, a quiet boy named Tom was thinking big thoughts-
thoughts about family, thoughts about love, thoughts about truth.

Some thoughts felt confusing.

Pages 8-9 (Inciting Moment)
“Hello, Tom,” said a deep, gentle voice.
Tom looked up. “Do I know you?”
“Not yet,” said the man. “But you have heard of Me.”

Pages 10-11 ( The Big Question)
Tom studied Him for a moment. 
“Oh, you’re God, the one everyone talks about.”
“Yes.”
Tom took a breath. “I have a question.”
“I like questions,” God said.

“Is it true that you can do anything?”
“Yes,” God replied. “I created the heavens and the earth.”
Curiosity tugged at Tom’s heart. 
“Is there anything You can’t do?”
“Yes.”

Pages 12-13 (Paradox Introduction )
Tom’s eyes widened. 
He was not expecting that answer.
“How can both be true?” Tom asked.
“It is called a paradox.”
Tom looked puzzled.
“That means two surprising things can both be true,” God added.

Pages 14-15 (Imagination to meaning)
“Here’s a riddle for you,” said God. 
“Imagine I made a rock so big that it would be impossible to pick up.”
Tom thought big. 
He stretched his arms wide. 
“Humongous- bigger than a mountain, bigger than the moon.”

Pages 16-17  (Bedrock Explanation)
God laughed, the kind of laugh that made Tom feel safe.
“Yes. And one more—a solid rock,” God said. “A bedrock.”
Tom blinked. “What’s a bedrock?”
Tom nodded.
“It is a rock of truth,” God said. “Like Me.”
“Why a bedrock?”

Pages 18-19 (Truth vs Lies- Insight)
“Because I spoke truth when I made the world,” God explained. 
“Truth is what the world stands on.”
Tom was quiet. “So you cannot lie?”
“I cannot.” God’s voice grew quiet.
“Lies slip through like water on sand.” 

Pages 20-21 (Insight)
“They wash things away, even the things the heart wants to keep,” He said. 
Tom thought for a moment. 
“So truth keeps lies from taking root,” Tom said softly.

Pages 22-23 (Choice & Free will)
“Yes,” God replied. “Truth stands strong.” 
Tom looked up. 
“How can I know it is really You?”
“I am always here,” God said gently. “But it is your choice to see Me.”
Tom thought for a moment.
 “Why do I decide?”

Pages 24-25 (Truth vs Free will)
“Because love must be freely given,” God said. 
“I did not make you like a tree, rooted in one place. 
I made you with a heart- to come close or turn away.”

Pages 26-27 
“And when you follow truth,” God added gently, 
“your heart stands safe, built on the solid rock of what is real.”
“I feel safe with You.” 

Pages 28-29 (Resolution)
Tom looked down, thinking.
“So the riddle wasn’t really about the size of the rock.”
“It was about your heart,” God said, 
“and what you choose to build upon.”
“It’s up to me,” Tom said.
“Always,” God replied. 
Tom smiled.

Theme:
This story explores the classic omnipotence paradox through a child’s conversation with God, revealing God's nature in a clear, relational way.

Philosophical Question:
If all things are possible for God, then can God create a rock so big that it is impossible for Him to pick up?
Scripture Reference:

Hebrews 6: 17-20 –
“…God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of promise, the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus entered as a forerunner for us…”

Reflection / Takeaway:
The two unchangeable things: His purpose rooted in truth, and that God cannot lie. He gave an oath to anchor our souls to hope, to Him.

edits: 
A father's love guides us, wrapping us in hugs. But what if you never sat on your father's lap, never held his hand in kindness, never felt a hug for love's sake? This riddle is for you.



short version: A father's love guides us, wrapping us in hugs. Yet, some children may wonder what it feels like to be hugged for love’s sake
This riddle is for them.

edits: 
“Why me?”
“Because love must be chosen freely,” God said. 

How?
“I am always here,” God said gently. “It is your choice to see Me.”
“So, I choose.”
“Yes, I did not make you like a tree, rooted in one place. I made you with a heart that can feel and a will that can choose to know Me.

Note: 
Love built on the solid rock of truth sustains the heart. Truth remains when lies wash and wear away the heart. It is the boy's heart seeking truth when it is hard to find.