The next Wednesday evening it was race day! Because there were so many cars the Professor had decided to have two race days. Tonight, everyone would race their car many times against different cars every time. Next week the cars would be divided into different classes, and they would race for the prizes!
The parents had come to watch their kids race their cars and the Professor was running around trying to find chairs for everyone. He tripped over one chair and knocked over a whole cart of chairs! The noise was horrendous! The Professor said, “Ooops!” Shelly whispered to Shane, “The Professor seems very clumsy tonight. We need to keep him away from the track! We do not want him to break the track!” This was a great idea, so Shane made sure that the Professor did not get near the track!
The races began and the parents cheered loudly when their child won the race! The winners were very happy, but the child who lost the race was very sad. Shelly was busy calling the kids that needed to bring their car to the track for the next race. Sometimes a kid who had lost the last race, won this race, and then they were happy! Shane started all the cars down the track, and he made sure that he always started the cars evenly so that they all could do their best in the race.
A few of the cars had wheels fall off, and the Professor tried to quickly put those wheels back on so that the cars could continue to race. The Professor did not know how to fix the wheels, and most of the time they fell off again! The Professor said, “Ooops!” Finally, there were so many cars that needed to be fixed that Shane and Shelly stopped the races for a few minutes so that they could fix the cars. They fixed the cars right, and then the races continued!
Finally, the last race of the night was finished. Many of the parents had lost their voices because they had yelled and cheered so loudly! Most of the kids were happy because they won at least a few races, but a few of the kids were sad and almost crying because their cars had not won even one race! One of these sad kids said to the Professor, “I quit! My car cannot win even one race! I do not want to do this anymore!” The Professor was sad when he heard some of the kids say this, he told all the kids and all the parents to gather around him because he was going to teach them a little more from the Bible.
Professor Ooops Lesson from the Bible:
The Professor told the kids and the parents that today’s Bible lesson was about not quitting. When things are not going well, there is always a temptation to just give up and quit. Just like losing all the races tonight made some of the kids want to quit, the same is true in the life of a Believer. It is hard to follow Jesus and live for Him on this earth. Sometimes when everything seems to be going wrong, it would be so easy to just give up and tell God, ‘I cannot do this’! Jesus encourages us and tells us to keep going!
In the Bible in Matthew 24:9-13 Jesus is talking about how hard it will be to live in this world just before He comes back, and He says:
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Jesus says to keep going, no matter what! The important thing is to remember that Jesus loves us and goes through this life with us, every step of the way! After this life, Believers get to spend forever with Jesus! Then there will be no more problems or discouragements! We need to endure and keep following Him!
The Apostle Paul knew this, and he lived a very hard life while he was following Jesus. He was almost killed several times because he loved Jesus, but he did not give up, he kept following Jesus!
Just before the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote these words in II Timothy 4:6-8
As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.
Most Believers are not going to be famous like the Apostle Paul, but that is not important. The important thing is to keep following Jesus, not matter what happens in this life! Do not ever give up!
The kids that had been discouraged and ready to cry, now had smiles on their faces! They said that they were not going to give up. They were going to come back next week and keep racing, even if they never won a race! They were not going to give up in the Pinewood Derby, and they were never going to give up following Jesus! The other kids all agreed; they were never going to give up!