There were once two farmers, Farmer Green, and Farmer Purple. They were bored on the farm, so they decided that they needed to go on an outstanding adventure. They realized that the world needed to have candy-flavored pop, and they were going to find the secret formula to make candy-flavored pop.
First, they needed to have new names suitable for great adventures (whoever heard of farmers going on action-packed adventures?)! Farmer Green decided to call himself Toenail, and Farmer Purple decided to call himself Leapfrog!
Our heroes needed to get supplies, and since they didn’t have much money, they went a rummage sale. They found some great bargains and left with everything they needed for a stupendous adventure. They had bought 1 pair of green tennis shoes, 3 toothpicks, 100 paperclips, a strong magnet, 5000 yards of dental floss, and 1 pair of used rollerblades.
Now they needed to find their first clue, so that they would know how to start their life-changing quest. A piece of paper happened to be laying on the ground, Toenail picked it up and read it. It said, “Find the light”. Toenail exclaimed, “This is it; we must go west toward the setting sun and find the light!” They prepared to leave immediately, Leapfrog put on the roller blades, and Toenail put on the green tennis shoes. Toenail used the paper clips to decorate his shirt and they put everything else in their pockets except the magnet. The magnet was too big to fit into any pocket, Leapfrog was holding it in his hand wondering where to put it, when suddenly, totally unexpectedly a speeding bus came out of nowhere right toward our heroes! Toenail tried to pull Leapfrog out of the way, but the paperclips on his shirt got all snaggled onto Leapfrog’s shirt and they found themselves hopelessly clipped together. The magnet grabbed onto the bus with unbelievable force, and they headed north at a horrendous rate of speed. Leapfrog was wearing the rollerblades and hanging onto the magnet, and Toenail was attached to Leapfrog’s back.
Leapfrog yelled, “Oh no, we are headed north instead of west, make the bus turn west!” So, Toenail told the bus, with a firm voice of authority, “Bus turn west!”
Of course, the bus did not listen to Toenail and continued heading north, going at least 120 mph. Six hours later Leapfrog came up with a brilliant idea! He said, “We can stop traveling north if I just let go of the magnet.” So, he did, and they rolled gently to the side of the road, then Toenail sneezed, they lost their balance and fell down a 10-foot cliff and landed with a splash in Lake Superior! They were about to drown, but then Leapfrog had another brilliant thought, and he stood up so that they would not drown!
Right before their eyes was a tall, red, and white striped lighthouse. Toenail exclaimed, “Maybe that is the light that we are supposed to find!” Toenail began running to the lighthouse, and because they were still paperclipped together and Leapfrog was wearing the rollerblades, he just kind of rolled along behind Toenail.
When they got to the lighthouse, there was a sign on the door that said, “Open the door and go in.” Of course, our superheroes decided that going through the door would not be exciting enough, so they decided to climb up the outside of the lighthouse. There were no stairs on the outside, and there was no ladder anywhere in sight. For a minute it looked like they would have to obey the rules and go in through the door, but then Leapfrog had another idea! He said, “Let’s take the 5000 yards of dental floss out of our pockets and braid it into a strong cord and use that to climb up the lighthouse. So that is what they did. About 3 days later they had finished braiding the dental floss and they had a strong cord and very clean teeth! They attached all the paperclips to the end of the cord and threw the cord as high as they could! The paperclips caught on the railing around the top of the lighthouse and held tight!
Toenail said, “I’ll climb up first, since I am wearing the bright green tennis shoes that have awesome tread on them. When I get to the top, I will pull you up. Since you are wearing rollerblades, you should be able to roll right up the side of the lighthouse.” This seemed like a good plan, so Toenail began climbing. It was an adventure filled with difficulties and dangers, but he did good. He was 8 ½ inches from the top when it happened! The paperclips all broke, and Toenail began to fall! Leapfrog saw what was happening and sprang into action! He yelled, “Don’t worry! I’ll catch you!” And he did, he caught Toenail and saved him from a horrendous death. Unfortunately, Leapfrog was still wearing the rollerblades and when he caught Toenail, they began to roll. They went rolling down the hill right toward some jagged rocks, but just beside the rock was a rowboat with cushioned seats. Leapfrog steered toward the rowboat, but just before they got to the safety of that soft rowboat, they hit a small rock and went flying up into the air! They went right over the rowboat and fell “splash” into the lake again. Once again, they were about to drown, but in a flash Leapfrog had yet another brilliant idea and stood up again and saved them from certain death. They would have tried to climb the lighthouse again, but they were afraid that a bad storm was coming because the water felt very wet, so they decided to go into the lighthouse through the door, just like the sign told them to in the first place.
Application:
In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I warn you – unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!“
God gives us rules and laws for our own good. His way is always the best way, just like the best way into the lighthouse was through the door!
If we choose to ignore God’s rules and laws, we cause ourselves to have a very hard time in this life and just like Leapfrog and Toenail trying to climb the outside of the lighthouse, you do not make it to your goal. The only way to get to heaven after this life is over is to follow God’s rules. God says that the only way to receive forgiveness for our sins and to be allowed into heaven is to come to Jesus humbly, believe in Him and ask for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus paid for our sins by dying on the cross, but we do not become forgiven unless we come to Him and ask for that forgiveness.
Also, after we become a believer in Jesus (a Christian), if we choose to not follow God’s rules and commands, we make ourselves least in His kingdom, this means that we lose some of the rewards that we could have gotten if we had been obedient.
Being a Christian and following Jesus is a lifelong adventure, it is just beginning when you ask Jesus to forgive your sins. How you choose to live the rest of your life here on earth will determine how great your reward will be at the end of this life when you stand before Jesus in heaven! Choose to follow God’s rules for living this life! It is the best way to live life, and the only way to please God!