Giving Blood

Today on my way to the office, I stopped for a pint. No, it wasn't at a pub to drink a pint; it was at Canadian Blood Services to give a pint. Having the kind of mind I do, I couldn't help thinking about some parallels between what I was doing and what had been done for me a couple of millennia ago.

Here are some points of comparison and contrast:

I was there to give blood entirely voluntarily. A year or so ago, as I was having a routine checkup, my family doctor said, “Your blood is really good, nice and high in iron. You should consider donating some.” I’ve been in to do that five times now. To force someone to donate blood would make it something other than a donation, wouldn’t it. It would be fair to say that I’d gone to the clinic because someone else sent me, but I totally went along with the idea.

The same is true of the Lord Jesus. Though the Father sent Him (Theologians please note that I understand this was not at all the same as my doctor sending me to give blood.) into the world to die on our behalf, when Jesus bled for us on the cross, it was voluntary. He willingly submitted to the Father’s will and “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame.”

Other than a tiny bag of salty snacks and a tetrapac of apple juice, my trip to the blood donor clinic didn’t benefit me, personally. I suppose if a family member were in need of a donation and I donated blood specifically for his or her benefit, I would stand to gain something in terms of saving myself some grief and extending a treasured relationship. The reality is, I have no idea who’ll benefit from my blood.

When Jesus bled for us on the cross, there is a sense in which He received no personal benefit, especially when we consider the millions who will ignore His sacrificial act of love. Yet, in another sense, because Jesus died for those He loves he did benefit. It turns out that in dying for us as individuals, He died for “the church” which will be His bride throughout eternity. Other than knowing this will be better than anything we can imagine, we don’t know much, but we can be thankful. The fact is, Jesus knows each and every one who will benefit from the gift of His blood.

I noticed that there was a whole sheet of barcode labels printed off to go with “my pint.” I asked about those. Some were to go on vials of blood for screening purposes. But, I learned, my blood would be split up into its component parts and each one had to have my label on it so that it could be traced back to me if there were a problem. I didn’t ask for details, but apparently as many as five different people could benefit from my blood donation.

When Jesus died on the cross for us, his sacrifice would benefit innumerable people. We can’t begin to imagine how many of us will accept his death on our behalf and receive the new life He offers.

I could, no doubt, think of several other items for a “compare and contrast” list of this sort not the least of which would be that my blood can only help to prolong someone physical life for some unspecified time. The shedding of Jesus’ blood ensures an eternity of blessing. This Easter time, as you think about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, consider the power of His blood to not just change our life, but to give us an entirely new one.