The next day the group only traveled a short distance. They were still going up and down mountains and the road had many dangerous curves.
While they were traveling, they sang songs to pass the time. At a certain time, the Leader asked them to sing America the Beautiful, but he had one special rule; he told them that when he said to stop, they had to instantly stop singing and be completely quiet and listen for something special!
The kids thought that this was a strange request, but they agreed to do it. They sang America the Beautiful all the way through, and just after they sang the words “America, America, God shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea”, the Leader motioned for them to be quiet. The kids stopped singing and listened, and they could not believe what they heard! The Ugly Little Blue Bus was playing the notes of the song! The kids were amazed! This could not be true! A bus cannot play a song! The kids started asking questions, but the Leader just told them to be patient and he would explain it later.
The Singing Road of New Mexico – Rt 66 Sings America the Beautiful – YouTube
That night at their campground, the Leader told all the kids to gather around the campfire and they would talk about the day and learn some more about God! Of course, the kids still wanted to know how the Ugly Little Blue Bus played the notes to America the Beautiful, so the Leader explained how it happened. In 2014 the Highway Department and the National Geographic Society decided that they wanted to do something special. They wanted to reward people that slowed down and drove the speed limit, so they designed the highway to sing! If a car or any other vehicle was traveling exactly 45 mph their right wheels would go over a series of rumble strips that were designed to play the notes of America the Beautiful! If they were going too fast or too slow the song will not play! This is a reward for being obedient to the speed limit!
God also rewards Christians that obey Him and serve Him. The Leader opened his Bible and read the words of Jesus from Revelation 22:12.
Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.
The Leader then opened his Bible and read the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:34-40
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did see you hungry and feed you , or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invited you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
The Leader then turned in his Bible to I Corinthians 3:11-15
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
To help the kids understand these verses, the Leader chose 4 kids to come and stand by him. He then divided the rest of the kids into 2 groups.
The Leader told the first group; ‘When I point to you, altogether say, “We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ!”’
The Leader told the second group; ‘When I point to you, altogether say, “We serve God because we love God!”’
The Leader pointed to the first of the kids standing by him and said, “This person is a Christian because (he points to the first group, “We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ!), but this person chose not to serve Christ during this life (he points to the second group, “We serve God because we love God”). She lived a long life and had a huge pile of works in front of her, but when tested by God’s fire, everything burned up! She had done nothing of value to God with her life. She still gets into heaven because (he points to the first group).”
The Leader pointed to the second of the kids and said, “This person is a Christian (points to the first group), but this person only served God a little because this person did not love God very much (he points to the second group). This person also lived a long time and had a huge pile of works at the end of his life, but when tested by God’s fire, most of it burned up. There were some of his works that were of value to God and survived the fire. He gets to keep those rewards for eternity in heaven!”
The Leader pointed to the third kid and said, “This person is a Christian (points to the first group), and this person loved God very much and he served God his whole life after he accepted Jesus (points to the second group)! This person lived a long time and had a huge pile of works at the end of his life. When his works were tested by fire, some of them did burn up, but most of his works were of value to God and survived God’s fire! He has great reward that he gets to keep for eternity in heaven!”
The Leader pointed to the fourth kid and said, “This person is a Christian (points to the first group), and this person loved God very much, but she was always a weak and sick person and died at a young age. She loved God very much and served Him as much as she could (points to the second group). At the end of her short life, she only had a small pile of works because she did not live long and could not serve much. When her works were tested by God’s fire, almost none of them burned up. Her works were of value to God and survived God’s fire! She has great reward that she gets to keep for eternity in heaven!”
The Leader then explained that when we serve God, we do not have to do something big that attracts a lot of notice. Serving God can be as simple as showing kindness, helping another person, or meeting the needs of a person in need. It all comes down to our motivation for doing the good deeds.
The Leader finished by reminding the group. “We cannot get to heaven by doing good works! We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ! We serve God because we love God! God will notice every act of service we do for others because we love God, and God will reward us for our acts of service to Him!