Archive Poster : MARCH 2021
Message: Live Giving Blood
Bible verse: Rev. 19:16 King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Throughout history, there has been a growing understanding of the remarkable properties of blood. In 1628, a physician named William Harvey published his theory on the circulation of blood - it was amazingly accurate. Soon after, the first blood transfusion was attempted. It was discovered that blood could save lives!
About 200 years later, the ‘International Committee of the Red Cross’ was founded by Henri Dunant in Switzerland. Henri had witnessed wounded and dying soldiers left to suffer without medical care on a battlefield in Italy. He started a campaign to reduce the suffering and casualties of war regardless of which side they belonged to.
But it took a long time for medical experiments to refine the process of storing and transferring blood between humans. Successful blood transfusions became more common during the Second World War. Since then, the Red Cross has become known for collecting and storing blood to save lives in peacetime and war.
Many of us, like Henri, value human life highly, and we will go to extraordinary lengths to preserve it. God’s son, Jesus, valued human life even more than we can understand. He understood that every single human life is precious and that is whyhe paid the ultimate price.
Christians speak about Jesus’ blood and what Jesus has done for them, and sometimes that might be hard to understand. It’s because he shed his blood, he lost his life, he sacrificed himself so that he could take the punishment of everyone who trusts in him. As though he stood in our place and took responsibility for all the times we’ve messed up and done wrong. It’s why Christians make such a big deal about Easter, because being forgiven for your sins changes everything.
The task of the Red Cross, under international law, is to protect the life and dignity of the victims of war. The work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was to save the life and dignity of everyone, everywhere.
Bible Verse:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches
of God’s grace.
Ephesians 1:7
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for the enormous sacrifice that your son, Jesus, made for us at Easter. Thank you for the gift of new life and the freedom from guilt we can enjoy as your children.
Amen.