Riding
the Bus
Richard loved to ride the school bus! Every morning he was up
early, ready for school in plenty of time, waiting on the front
porch for the big yellow bus to come. He liked to ride in the
very back seat next to his best friend Paul.
One reason Richard liked to ride the bus was that he liked Mr.
Jacobs, the bus driver. He smiled a lot and usually asked him
about his dog Prince. Mr. Jacobs really didn't have to ask; he
could just look out his window and see for himself. Prince was
always out by the curb barking as the bus pulled away. It was
like Prince was saying, "Have a good bus ride. I'll be waiting
for you when you get home."
Richard felt safe riding with Mr. Jacobs. He always reminded the
children to stay in their seats and he used the bus lights to
warn other drivers that he was stopping to pick up someone. Richard
never worried for one minute about getting to school safely.
One day school had to be dismissed early because freezing rain
and snow had begun to fall and the roads were becoming very slippery.
Mr. Jacobs urged the children to get on the bus quickly so they
could start for home. Mr. Jacobs drove as carefully as he could,
but on the way down a long hill, the bus hit a patch of ice and
skidded out of control. Before they knew it, the bus, Mr. Jacobs,
and all of the children were in the ditch.
When the bus had come to a stop, Mr. Jacobs jumped quickly from
his seat to see if anyone was hurt. Richard and Paul, like some
of the other children, had bumped into one another as the bus
dipped down into the ditch. But thankfully, no one was hurt. Mr.
Jacobs tried to back the bus out of the ditch, but it was hopelessly
stuck, with one front wheel twisted in a strange way.
A passing motorist offered to call for help. Soon the police came.
While Richard and Paul and the other children watched the flashing
lights of the police car out the back window, Mr. Jacobs reported
what had happened to the policeman and told him that there was
no way he could take the children to their homes and neigborhoods
because the bus was stuck and the front wheel was broken. The
policeman went back to his patrol car and spoke into his two-way
radio.
"I wonder what that policeman said into that radio,"
Richard said to Paul. "I guess Prince will be wondering where
we are if we don't get home pretty soon,"
They didn't have long to wait. As the children watched out their
windows, their eyes widened. A big silver motor coach like you
sometimes see taking tour groups to special places pulled up alongside
their broken-down bus and stopped. It was the biggest bus Richard
and Paul had ever seen. They saw Mr. Jacobs and the policeman
smiling and talking to the driver. Then Mr. Jacobs climbed back
into the school bus and explained everything. Since all the school
buses were busy taking other children home, the policeman had
phoned the bus station and they had volunteered to send one of
their big busses to pick up the stranded children. Eagerly the
children left their damaged bus and climbed onto the big silver
coach. The driver was very friendly and told them he was sorry
about the accident, but soon they would be safely home. Mr. Jacobs
would ride along to tell him where everyone lived.
As the big silver coach made its way up and down the neighborhood
streets where Richard and his friends lived, parents came out
to meet their children. They knew what to be watching for, because
the school principal had called them all. Everyone was so happy
to see the big silver bus. When they got to Richard's stop, even
Prince was there too.
A long time ago when God created Adam, it's like He put the whole
human race in a bus together with Adam as the driver. When Adam
sinned, it was like Adam lost control of our bus and we all ended
up in a bad accident. But this accident was much worse than the
accident with Mr. Jacobs. In this accident, everyone in the bus
was hurt so badly they would have died if Jesus had not come to
the rescue. But God didn't want any of His children to be hurt
or to die. So Jesus came. It's like God put us all into a new
bus that could take us safely home, with Jesus at the wheel. We'll
all stay with Jesus, and He'll make sure we get to the home He
has prepared for us safely. He's as anxious as Prince for us to
get home!
