The CEO of one of the companies I work with is fond of using an expression made famous by the Texas Rangers – and I don’t mean the baseball team. It seems that back in 1896 an illegal riot was about to break out in Dallas. The Texas Rangers, who were always small in number but tall in stature, sent Captain Bill McDonald to Dallas to handle the situation. When the mayor of Dallas asked why there weren’t more Rangers assigned to do the job, McDonald replied with his now famous line, “One riot, one ranger.” The rest, as they say, is history – and as late as 2009 there were only 144 Texas Rangers who were on the force.
The history of the Rangers is such that they have been instrumental in the capture of outlaws such as Bonnie and Clyde as well as many lesser known criminals. And they take great pride in their work. In fact, if they don’t know how to do something, they learn on the job, so to speak. They are creative and dedicated to doing the right thing. As has often been said, one person in the right place at the right time often makes all the difference in the outcome of the situation – and that has been true with the Rangers for more than a century.
The same is true of God’s choice on sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to save the entire world. When Adam and Eve committed their sin in the Garden of Eden, it was important to God that there be a way for us, as sinners, to be reunited with Him. That’s why Jesus came to earth as a human, yet fully divine, to eventually die for the sins of the world. One person – fully God and fully human, who died and was resurrected to atone for all the sins of mankind, once and for all time. Kind of like the idea of one Ranger for one monumental problem with the entire earth. Only there has never been a Texas Ranger like Jesus Christ. He knows the answer to every problem and doesn’t need to learn anything about His calling “on the job.”
The verse for this evening highlights the sending of Jesus to earth by God the Father. We are told, in the most famous Bible verse ever recorded, John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” And so it was…
My encouragement this evening is that when God is in control, we don’t ever need to worry about the outcome and who will prevail. God always wins; and that’s great news for those of us who are believers. My prayer this evening is that when you have an issue or a problem, you’ll call on the greatest One who ever lived in human form – Jesus Christ. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…