There isn't a text for this particular piece because it is something that is written across the whole Bible.

This was really difficult to do because the story was horrible. I think that one of the unnerving aspects to the news was that the events had happened so long ago, and that there are probably kids going through some similar evil right now. I guess that the sense of powerlessness in the face of such cruelty is the big idea here.

The cartoon is really about the letter 'P'. The use of the letter is in itself interesting because it means that the child is impersonal to the wider public. In the news reporting at the time, the word 'punchbag' was used many times to describe some of the cruelty that he went through.

The cartoon aims at a few things:
1. The contrast between the word Punchbag and Precious - that the storyline of the Bible is all about God expressing our worth in the highest most glorious terms.
2. That the suffering and loneliness of the child was something that Jesus entered into willingly.
3. That the christian worldview holds great hope for this child - who knows? maybe in the darkest hour Jesus comforted him, and now after such a short and miserable life there is something better beyond the grave.

I deliberately placed the panels in this order to reflect the idea that Jesus was aware of what would be coming when he suffered. I also repeated the same punching torturer in both panels to give a sense of the same experience being delivered to both.

The amazing thing about the Bible story is that God has entered such a bleak landscape with such incredible passion and depth.

Tags: Sin, Redemption, Jesus, Judge