Roll Up Your Sleeve

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ne of the fun things about being a high school teacher is the variety of duties you are asked to perform in addition to teaching in the classroom.  In the contract, this is affectionately referred to as the “catch all” phrase.  Essentially it says that the teacher will perform all other duties assigned by the principal or other administrative personnel.  Essentially, you are legally bound to sponsor clubs, coach sports teams, attend all types of meetings, and sit on several different committees.

I fulfilled several of these roles during my years as a high school instructor.  However, one of my favorite duties was the annual blood drive held at our school.  It took several days of planning to make sure this was done correctly.  The library or the gym had to be reserved, the local blood center had to be contacted for an appointment, and the local papers and radio stations had to be provided with all the pertinent information.

People came from miles around, voluntarily rolling up their sleeves, pumping a pint, and then resuming their normal activities.  We always had a large turnout and consistently collected between 90 and 120 pints of blood each year.  The people of that community were generous givers and looked forward to the bloodmobile’s arrival at our school.

Several years ago, our church sponsored a blood drive.  Our pastor set the example by rolling up his sleeve early in the morning and pumping a pint.  He encouraged all those at our early service to do the same and he also requested those in the late service to stop by the mobile collection center on their way home.  He told us that one pint of blood could be used to help as many as six people.

Now, stop and think about that for one minute.  If you’ve ever been in the hospital and needed blood, you were only able to receive a transfusion because someone voluntarily gave a pint.  Blood cannot be manufactured and it doesn’t appear out of thin air.  No!  It must be given by a volunteer so that others may live.  This fluid that courses through our veins and arteries is so important.  Without it, there would be no life, only death.

This truth was not lost on the people of Israel.  Their entire law centered on the concept of sacrifice.  Sacrifices were performed for various aspects of life.  There were sacrifices for births, for thanksgiving, and for forgiveness.  On the Day of Atonement, known as Yom Kipuur in Hebrew, a sacrifice was made for all the people to cover their sins.  Nothing short of the blood of a spotless animal would fulfill God’s requirements.  His command was very clear about the use of blood for this ritual.  The people were not to eat meat with blood in it nor were they to drink blood.  Blood represented a life that had been poured out sacrificially to purify their sins.

Leviticus 17:11 gives us God’s command concerning the role of blood: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.”  Look at the importance God himself places on blood.  It is to be used to make atonement, to bring the people back into a right relationship with God.  In order for this blood to be used, an animal had to die, to be sacrificed, and to give of itself so that others could live.

All of this prefigured the coming of Jesus and his sacrificial work on Calvary’s cross.  Christ is the perfect lamb of God, without spot or blemish.  He sacrificed himself, spilled his blood, so that we could have eternal life.  God says there is life in the blood, and only in it.  It is the blood that makes atonement possible.  The sacrificial system in the Old Testament had to be repeated yearly.  The blood of an animal only covered sin; it did not destroy it or remove it from the people.  No animal’s blood could do that.  Instead, God sent his son, innocent and perfect, to give his blood for us.  Through his death, through his gift, through his blood, God made a way for us to be forever freed from sin and its hold over us.  The blood of Jesus does not cover our sin; it cleanses us from all sin.

Each time someone donates blood, pain is involved.  There is momentary discomfort while the blood is being donated.  However, after the pint is collected, the donor is free to leave and resume normal activity.  Yet, when Jesus gave his blood, great pain was involved.  Not only physical pain, but spiritual and emotional pain was part of the process.  In addition, Jesus didn’t give just a pint of blood, he gave all he had.

This is always God’s way.  God always gives his best to us and for us.  When mankind needed a blood transfusion to save him, there were no flyers, no advertisements, no phone calls, and no one begging for donors.  Instead, God rolled up his sleeve and willingly gave his own blood, all of it, so that we might have life.  There is life in the blood.  Won’t you roll up your sleeve and receive your transfusion today?