Leapfrog, Toenail & Trixie had tied pinewood derby cars to their feet, and they were going to race! If Toenail lost the race, he might cry, so Trixie came up with a plan so that Toenail would not lose the race!
She said, “Let’s take the duct tape that we used to tape the surfboard to the skateboard and use it to tape us together side-by-side. None of us will be able get ahead, we will always be even, no one will win, and no one will lose!” It was a great idea! Soon they were taped together and racing all over the place. No one ever won, and no one ever lost, and Toenail did not have to cry!
They did have one problem, if one of them fell, they all fell. Toenail was quite clumsy, so he fell a lot, and of course Leapfrog and Trixie had to fall with him! This made Trixie cry! Toenail felt bad about this, so he tried to cheer up Trixie by singing to her!
Toenail’s awful singing made Leapfrog’s hair start to turn blonde! Trixie covered her ears and yelled, “Help me, help me, I hurt my knee!” Toenail stopped singing and replied, “What do you think I am? A camel?” That was so funny that Trixie began laughing and could not stop, so they had a great time!
After racing each other for about three hours, Leapfrog said, “It is time to go back to that narrow gate and go through it to get the secret prize. I hope it is the recipe for candy-flavored pop! So, they raced each other out of the wide gate! It was an awesome race; they were side-by-side going faster than a fencepost in a snowstorm! The finish line was right by a stop sign. Of course, the race finished in a tie because they were taped together. Leapfrog knew that they were supposed to stop at the stop sign, so he reached out and grabbed the stop sign pole to stop them. Since they were taped together, they did not stop, they just started going in circles around that stop sign pole. They went faster and faster, round and round! Then it happened! A motorcycle policeman saw them going through that stop sign over and over! He started his motorcycle, turned on his red flashing, turned on his siren, and began chasing Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie around and around that stop sign pole!
The police officer yelled, “Stop! In the Name of the Law!”
Leapfrog yelled back, “We cannot stop! Pinewood Derby Race Cars do not have brakes!”
They needed to stop! Toenail saw what needed to be done, and he did it! Toenail fell on purpose, and of course Leapfrog and Trixie had to fall too because they were taped together. There was just one problem, the motorcycle policeman was right behind them, and he could not stop in time!
The motorcycle hit Toenail’s elbow and did seven somersaults. Toenail calmly said, “Help me, help me, I hurt my knee!” Trixie replied, “What do you think I am? A postage stamp?”
The motorcycle policeman hit the ground and bounced 12 times without falling off his motorcycle. He was not happy. He came up to Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie and said, “You just went through that stop sign about 27 times without stopping! Each of you is driving 2 racecars, so that means that each of you will get 54 tickets for going through a stop sign! Do any of you have a license for driving a pinewood derby car on the road?
Just when it looked like our superheroes would be going to jail, it happened! Toenail got the hiccups! He got the hiccups so bad that he got dizzy and fell to the ground. He fell right onto the starting switch on the policeman’s motorcycle! The motorcycle roared to life and began going down the road at top speed with no one driving it! The policeman made a stupendous jump to try to catch the runaway motorcycle. He was just able to wrap his fingers around the taillight on the back fender! The motorcycle was going so fast that he floated in the air behind the motorcycle! It looked like the motorcycle had a tail! Just before the motorcycle and the policeman went out of sight, they heard the policeman yell, “Help me, help me, I hurt my knee!” Leapfrog calmly said, “He must think that we are potatoes!”
They realized that they were not going to jail, they were free, and the narrow gate was just a few feet away from them! All together they began to race their pinewood derby cars toward that narrow gate! They went faster and faster, and then it happened! The three of them side-by-side hit that narrow gate at full speed! They were too wide to go through that gate! Only one person could fit through at a time, and they were duct taped together! When they hit that gate, they were going so fast that they bounced back 36 feet! They landed right on top of a piece of paper, so they did not get hurt at all!
They got up and decided to try again! This time they knew that they needed help, so they caught 58 ½ butterflies and put them all in Trixie’s hair. With all 58 ½ butterflies flapping their wings as hard as they could, they built up so much speed that Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie were flying about six feet off the ground when they reached the narrow gate! Then it happened! They hit that gate six feet above the ground just when Toenail hiccupped again! Butterflies flew in all directions! The pinewood derby cars exploded! Our three super duper heroes hit the wall on both sides of the gate and went flying backwards 75 feet!
They landed right beside a mauve-colored miniature moose! Everyone knows that mauve-colored miniatures mooses eat duct tape, and this one was very hungry! Before they knew what was happening, that moose had eaten all the duct tape that was holding Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie together! Just when the last of the duct tape was eaten, Toenail hiccupped again, and the mauve-colored miniature moose ran away completely terrified!
Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie had lost their pinewood derby race cars, they had lost their duct tape, and they almost lost their minds! They walked back to the narrow gate and got the surprise of their lives! When they were not taped together, they could each walk through with no problem at all!
They went through that gate and walked a little way and then could not believe what they saw! Right in front of them was a ……
Application:
In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says:
You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie found that it was easy to go through the wide gate. A lot of people went through that gate because they believed that it promised them fun and happiness. Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie found that the fun did not last, and the happiness was not real.
Life in this world is lot like going through that wide gate. Most people in this world are looking only for fun and happiness right now, and they do not take time to think about what happens when this life is over. The fun and happiness offered by the world only lasts a short time, and then it is gone. There is no lasting happiness without God in your life.
Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie found that it was much harder to go through the narrow gate. They found that they could not go through together, each one had to choose to go through by themselves. Not many people chose to go that way.
Jesus said that choosing God’s way is like choosing that narrow gate. For those who choose the narrow way, Jesus promises to guide them through this life, and after this life they are promised heaven, which is beyond our imaginations! Each person must choose the narrow way of following Jesus, no one else can make that choice for them, and they cannot choose the narrow way for any of their friends and loved ones, they must choose for themselves.
If you have not already asked Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your life, do it today! That is the first step in the narrow way that leads through the best life here on earth, and then promises a life in heaven with Jesus forever! Choose the narrow way today!
If you have friends and loved ones who have not chosen the narrow way that leads to heaven, you cannot choose for them, but you can pray and ask Jesus to help them see that they need to choose the narrow way and ask Jesus to forgive them and come to live in their life. Do not quit praying for those around you who do not know Jesus!