On November 7th, 1907, a boxcar containing dynamite caught fire in the village of Nacozari in Sonora, Mexico. When the flames reached the dynamite, the blast was felt 16 kilometers (10 miles) away. That would be like standing in the parking lot of the St. Albert Wal-Mart and feeling a blast that went off in Morinville! The whole town of Nacozari should have been blown into the air like dandelion seeds scattered by a single, careless puff. It wasn’t, however, thanks to the railroad engineer, Jesús García. When he noticed that the boxcar had caught fire, he quickly drove the car away from the town where it exploded harmlessly - harmlessly for the people of Nacozari that is but not harmlessly for Jesús. Jesús himself died in the blast. He gave his life to save the lives of many. Why did he do it? We can’t ask him of course but I’m sure he would have said something like, “It was my job.”
There is, of course, another Jesús who gave his life in a daring rescue. On Good Friday, Jesus of Nazareth hitched the world’s sins to himself and pulled them up on the cross where God’s fury exploded with a deafening silence that can still be heard 2,000 years later. Why did Jesus do it? Step close and press your eye to the keyhole of the cross and you’ll see why he did it because you’ll be looking into God’s love. God’s amazing love. Today we’ll see that God’s love is amazing because it’s for you, and it’s forever.
The train engineer, Jesús García, is hailed a hero because he saved a town of hard working people, of boys and girls, and of grandpas and grandmas. But what if he had driven a burning boxcar of TNT away from the mansion of a drug lord? Would newspaper headlines have read, “Jesús García Demonstrates Love By Dying For Drug Lords!”? More likely they would call him a fool for sacrificing his life for the sake of scum. Why not let the boxcar explode and take the drug lord and all his cronies with him? Consider then what the Apostle Paul writes about the rescue Jesus pulled off. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
We may not live outside the law as a drug lord obviously does by trafficking narcotics but we do routinely step outside of the boundaries God has given to us – boundaries meant to keep us and others safe. For example God forbids stealing and yet we routinely transfer music we didn’t buy onto our iPods, telling ourselves that those millionaire artists don’t need MY hard earned cash. God tells us to speak the truth but we’d rather blame our teacher for our crummy test results than admit we just didn’t study hard enough. Am I describing nitpicky sins that God doesn’t really care about? Tell me, how big of a flame does it take to ignite a stick of dynamite? Won’t just a spark do? In the same every sin, no matter how small it may seem to us, is a fire that threatens to blow up our relationship with God because every sin is an arrogant declaration of independence from God’s love and concern for us.
That was the situation when God acted. We were engulfed in the flames of our own sin when God sent his Son to rescue us even though God knew that it would cost his Son’s life. Would you do that? Would you send your child on to thin ice to rescue his drowning friend if you knew your son would die in the process? What if that drowning kid WASN’T your son’s friend, but the bully who had stolen your son’s lunch money and covered him with bruises and ridicule every recess since kindergarten? That’s what God did when he sent Jesus to rescue us…and for free. You’ll never receive a bill in the mail for what God did to save you from hell fire. God’s love is amazing because it’s for you no matter how “terrible” the sins you have committed or how small you may think those sins are.
If Jesús García had given his life to rescue a drug lord, you would expect the thug to show his thanks by mending his ways. But what if he didn’t? What if he continued to peddle drugs and gun down rivals and innocent bystanders alike? Would anyone give their life to save such a man a second time? I doubt it. Consider then God’s amazing love. It’s not just for sinners; it’s forever. Paul wrote: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:1, 2a).
My blood boils when I hear how a drug lord escapes conviction on some technicality. Especially when I know that drug lord is just going to keep ruining lives with his continued illegal activities. But don’t you think God’s blood boils too when we continue to step outside of his boundaries even after he sent his Son to save us? Every morning I vow to be patient with my family but I lose it with them even before we’ve finished breakfast. Is God’s love withdrawn from me when that happens? Do you temporarily lose your spot in heaven when you break the law and exceed the speed limit? No. God’s amazing love is forever. You and I continue to stand in his grace, says Paul. That grace holds us to God’s heart the way your seatbelt holds you into your seat not just when you’re cruising safely down the highway but even, no especially when you’re crashing into a barrier! And so I don’t have to worry about dying before I can confess some sin – as if God’s love and forgiveness is something I earn by constant confession. No, my status with God depends on what Jesus has done for me. Through faith in him I am and remain a forgiven child of God. No matter what foolish thing I did yesterday. No matter what boneheaded thing I said this morning. Everything is OK between God and me, for Jesus’ blood constantly cleanses me from my sins the way eyelids constantly whisk away irritants from the eyes by blinking every few seconds.
Now you know that this doesn’t mean that we can live any way we want – as if Jesus’ blood scotchgaurds us so that we can sin without the fear of staining our robe of righteousness. Those who knowingly and willingly rush headlong into sin are as foolish as the fireman who sheds his fire jacket because “it’s too hot to fight a fire in that thing.” No! He better keep that jacket on or it’s going to get a lot hotter when he steps into the flames. While God’s love is forever it can be forsaken, and those who forsake his love will be forbidden entrance into heaven.
But why would we want to forsake God’s love for us? His love has given us peace. More than that, says Paul. It’s given us joy. Paul put it this way in out text: “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:2 b, 3, 4). Because God’s love is forever, we can and will rejoice even in the face of suffering. Why? Because we know that God will never abandon us. I mean if God sent his Son to die for you, is he going to forget about you now? Would you spend considerable time, effort, and money restoring an antique, hand-carved cabinet to its original condition only to leave it out in the driveway where it will get ruined by the rain and snow? Of course not! That’s what Paul was getting at when he wrote: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10)
So if God loves us so much, why does he let us suffer? God often lights the fire of adversity to melt our self-sufficiency. Only then can we be molded into God’s likeness the way you can mold soft wax with your fingers. That’s not to say that every time adversity comes it’s because we’ve been proud and need a call to repentance. God often lets us suffer because he wants to show off his grace. Just as a burning candle will fill a room with a pleasing scent, Christians facing the fire of adversity will give off the aroma of Christ when they turn to their Savior’s love and grace to get them through.
Is God’s fire burning underneath you right now? Don’t mistake it for anger or displeasure. “Oh no!” says Paul. Even in the midst of our sufferings God’s amazing love is with us. Paul wrote: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5). God does not grudgingly parcel out his love the way a brand new potato chip bag is only filled up half way. No, God has poured out his love into our hearts the way you pour out soft serve ice cream into your bowl at an all you can eat buffet. It spills over the sides! Just think of the parable of the prodigal son. When the prodigal son returned, his father didn’t put him on probation; he threw him a party and that was after he gave him new sandals, a ring, and a new coat! That’s what God’s love in Jesus means for us. It means we don’t just escape hell; God’s love in Jesus means we will enter heaven.
The citizens of Nacozari were so thankful to Jesús García for saving them that they renamed their town after him. Jerusalem, however, was not renamed Jesusville in honor of the Savior’s sacrifice on Good Friday. But you, dear listener, have been renamed. We were once God’s enemies but thanks to Jesus are now part of God’s family. This change is not just honorary. You really have peace with God. You really have a reason to rejoice. Why? Because God’s amazing love is for you, and it’s forever. Amen.
