The pinewood derby cars were cut out, sanded, and painted! It was time to put the wheels on the cars! Professor Ooops was so excited because he was going to show the kids how to put the wheels on the cars. The Professor thought that he knew everything there was to know about wheels, and he could not wait to teach the kids!
The Professor had all the kids gather around the table where he was working. He used a small battery-powered drill to drill holes at the places where the wheels would be attached, then he took a nail that was about an inch long, put it through the hole in the wheel and carefully pounded the nail into one of the holes in the car. He did this four times for each car, and then he did the same thing for the next car. The Professor was attaching wheels faster than a mouse eating gum drops! The kids were impressed! They could not believe how talented the Professor was.
Then it happened! One of the kids set their car on the floor, and only three of the wheels touched the ground! The Professor said, “Ooops!” Another of the kids set their car on the floor and the wheels were so loose that they wobbled when she rolled the car across the floor! The Professor said, “Ooops!” One of the kids put their car on the floor and one of the front wheels was crooked. The car would not roll in a straight line! The Professor said, “Ooops!” One of the older boys tried to roll his car across the floor and none of the wheels would turn! The Professor said, “Ooops!” Then the oldest girl (except Shelly) set her car on the floor, and none of the wheels touched the ground! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
This girl yelled at the Professor, “Quit saying Ooops! I want my car fixed! I want to race my car and I hope to win a few races, but my car cannot even move! What are you going to do about it?”
The Professor did not know what to do, but Shane knew what to do, and Shelly helped him. Shane measured carefully and found out how high the holes needed to be drilled in the cars, then he measured and made all the holes at the same height. Now all the wheels would touch the ground. Shelly helped Shane to keep the drill exactly straight so that none of the wheels would be crooked.
Shane and Shelly put the nails through the middle of the wheels and carefully nailed them onto the cars. They made sure that the wheels were not nailed so tight that they would not move, and they also made sure that they were not so loose that they wobbled.
Now all the cars rolled in a straight line, all the wheels touched the floor, and none of the wheels wobbled! The kids were happy!
The Professor now understood how to put wheels on the cars the right way. He told all the kids to gather around him so that he could teach them a little more about God.
Professor Ooops Lesson from the Bible:
The Professor said that when the girl yelled at him and told him that she wanted the wheels on her car fixed so that she had a chance to win a race, it reminded him of something in the Bible.
The Professor told the kids that in the Bible the Apostle Paul compared the life of a Believer to a race.
In the Bible in I Corinthians 9:24-26a Paul says:
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step.
If an athlete is getting ready for an important race, the athlete needs to train every day. It does not matter if the weather is bad, if the athlete is tired, or not feeling great. Every day the athlete trains because there is a prize to be won, and they will do what needs to be done to be ready! During the race the athlete needs to follow the rules, or they will be disqualified and cannot win the prize.
In the same way, a Believer in Jesus needs to follow the rules and train every day! The first rule is the most important, the person must believe in Jesus and admit that they are a sinner and need Jesus to forgive their sins and come into their life and take control.
The Believer also must train every day! The Believer trains by learning more about Jesus and learning how to live in a way that pleases Jesus. This is done in several ways; spending time praying, spending time reading the Bible (and doing what it says), and meeting with other Believers at Church or in a small group in a home to learn more about Jesus and encourage each other.
As a Believer learns more about Jesus, there will also be opportunities to serve Jesus in various ways. Some of the ways to serve Jesus are obeying parents, being a good student at school, showing respect to others, telling others about Jesus, helping others, to be truthful and honest, and the list goes on and on.
The goal of a pinewood derby is to win a race, the goal of a Believer to hear Jesus say to them when they reach the end of this life, “Well done!”
In the Bible in Matthew 25:23 Jesus says:
The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
Live your life for Jesus with all you heart, spirit, soul, and strength!