Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie had gotten through the narrow gate, and they could not believe their eyes! Right in front of them was the house of secrets! They knew it was the house of secrets because there was a big sign that said, “Welcome to the house of secrets! Solve the riddle and learn the secret!” There was another sign that had a riddle on it, and Leapfrog, Toenail, and Trixie were determined to solve that riddle so that they could learn the secret recipe for candy-flavored pop! The riddle said:
If at the secret you would like to peek,
Then you must look and _________!
If the secret you would like to unlock,
Then go up to the door and _______!
It’s not such a difficult task,
If a person you would _________!
Leapfrog used his super-powered brain and thought and thought about how to solve the riddle. Toenail spent the time trying to balance pieces of grass on top of his head!
Leapfrog jumped up in the air, clapped his toes together, and yelled, “I’ve figured it out! All we need to do to solve this riddle is to figure out words that rhyme, and those three words will solve the riddle!” This was a great idea! The first word had to rhyme with the word “peek”.
Leapfrog now used his super-powered brain to think of a word that rhymed with “peek”, he was thinking so hard that smoke was coming out of his belly button, and his left foot was about to explode! Just before his foot exploded, Leapfrog calmly said, “I think the first word is “seek” because it rhymes with “peek” and it makes sense. If at the secret you would like to peek, then you must look and seek!” And of course, we have been seeking for candy-flavored pop for a long time, so we have already done the first part of the riddle!
Toenail said, “I will solve the second part of the riddle. I just need to think of a word that rhymes with “unlock”! Toenail did not want to put too much stress on his brain, so he tried to braid his hair, but it was too short!
After 15 minutes, Toenail exclaimed, “I’ve got it! It is the word “rock”! That word rhymes with “unlock” and it makes sense to me! If the secret you would like to unlock, then go up to the door and rock!” We need to go up to the door of the house and sing some rock music!”
Trixie said, “We might as well figure out the third word before we begin, it must rhyme with “task”.” While Trixie was thinking, she played a game of tic-tac-toe 14 times and won every time! After that, Trixie said, “I think the right word is “ask”. Then the last part of the riddle will say, “It’s not such a difficult task, if a person you would ask” When someone answers the door, we need to ask that person for the secret recipe for candy-flavored pop!”
Our three super-heroes felt that they were at the very end of the quest for candy-flavored pop, and they went bravely up to the door of that house. Leapfrog and Toenail suddenly began to try to sing very loudly like rock stars! It was an awful noise! Trees fell over, water evaporated, the grass turned orange, flies tried to eat frogs, mooses drove buses, and Trixie screamed and ran around to the back of the house! No one opened the door, so they tried singing again, and again, and again! By now the house was almost on fire because of the awful noise, but still no one answered the door!
Leapfrog said, “Maybe we are not supposed to sing rock music, there does not seem to be anyone around here who appreciates the good music we are making! Maybe we can find a better word that rhymes with “unlock”.
Leapfrog said with great joy, “I’ve figured it out! The right word is “knock”, it rhymes with unlock, and it makes a lot of sense! The middle part of the riddle should say, “If the secret you would like to unlock, then go up to the door and knock!”
This was the right answer to the riddle, and now it looked so obvious and easy. Leapfrog and Toenail went right back up to that door and knocked. Immediately the door was opened. When Leapfrog and Toenail saw who opened the door, they were so shocked that they fell down the steps and landed on their noses!
It was Trixie! Toenail asked, “How did you get inside this house?” Trixie replied, “While you two were making that awful noise that you called rock music, I went around to the back door and came into the house!” Leapfrog asked, “Why you are in this house, you should not go into other people’s houses?” Trixie laughed and said, “But this is my house, you never saw where I lived before! Now aren’t you supposed to ask the person who answers the door a question?”
Leapfrog and Toenail were confused! They said, “We are supposed to ask that person about the secret recipe for candy-flavored pop.” Trixie said, “Well are you going to ask me?” Leapfrog asked, “Do you know the recipe?” Trixie replied, “Of course I know the recipe, in fact, I was going to tell you the secret recipe the first time that we met, but the policeman took me away before I had the chance to tell you!” Toenail asked, “If you knew the recipe this whole time, why didn’t you tell us and save us all this time and hard work?”
Trixie said, “I liked to travel with you! You guys are funny, and I never know what kind of problem you will get yourself into next. Besides, I do not tell people the recipe unless they ask me, and I was waiting for you to ask me!”
Trixie then gave them the secret recipe for candy-flavored pop. She went back into her house, and Leapfrog and Toenail went back to their farms and became Farmer Purple and Farmer Green again! It was time to plant their crops anyway. This ends the adventure of the Quest for Candy-Flavored Pop. Farmer Purple and Farmer Green carefully guarded the recipe and after a hard day of working on the farm, they always enjoyed a cold glass of candy-flavored pop!
THE END
Application:
In Matthew 7:7-8 Jesus says:
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
In our story, Leapfrog and Toenail spent a lot of time and effort looking for the secret of candy-flavored pop. Trixie was the one who had the answers to their questions, and she was with them for most of the adventure. As soon as they asked her, she gave them the recipe.
In the same way, many people spend a lot of time and a lot of effort looking for God. People will read many books, get the opinions from many ‘experts’, and experiment with all kinds of things while they are trying to find God. The answer is so simple that most people miss it! God is right here all the time; He is not distant and unreachable! God has given us His Word (the Bible) to tell us how to get forgiven and get to know Him!
It is all about asking, seeking, and knocking at the door:
- Seeking – we need to want Him and desire to find Him
- Knocking at the door – this involves learning about Him, believing and trusting that He will keep the promises that He has made to us. God has sent His Son, Jesus, to die and rise from the dead to pay for our sins, and God wants to forgive our sins and adopt us into His family
- Asking – we need to act and believe in Jesus and ask God to forgive our sins and come into our life.
Asking Jesus to forgive our sins and come into our life is only the beginning! The asking, knocking on the door, and seeking goes on for the rest of the time we are on this earth!
- Seek – we need to seek and desire to know Him more
- Knock on the door – we need to press on, and learn as much as we can about God, and how to live a life that pleases Him
- Ask – we need to ask Him to start changing us on the inside, so that we start becoming more like Him.
It is a lifelong process, get started today!
The Recipe for Candy-Flavored Pop
After reading all these stories, you probably wonder if there is really a recipe for Candy-Flavored Pop; well, here it is:
2 liters of grape pop
2 liters of black cherry pop
1 liter (1/2 of a 2-liter bottle) of orange pop
Refrigerate and stir together slowly, do not add ice (this will change the flavor)
Enjoy!