About Blood: Musings from a Hospital Bed
 The doctors came in, looked at me and made their pronouncement: “You have acquired hemophilia, your blood is no longer clotting, and the reason is unknown.” Bleeding was taking place from multiple hematomas that drained into the soft tissues of my body which then drained into my legs and feet. Eventually as I had my legs and feet elevated, the blood drained back toward my torso where it was removed through the urinary system.
On one trip to the emergency room my heart was beating irregularly. The reason? My heart was beating in a vacuum because of the loss of blood! A couple pints of blood, and I began to return to normal.
Unlike regular, hereditary hemophilia, acquired hemophilia does not produce surface bleeding. Sixty years ago, as a young barber in Quanah, TX, I learned about regular hemophilia from two little pixyish, curly-haired brothers. A tiny nick by the clippers or a little too much finger pressure to steady a tiny head meant a quick charter flight to the hospital 200 miles away. I breathed a sigh of relief when they moved closer to the hospital.
It is easy to glibly talk about blood and sing the words to old hymns such as, “Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?” I have had a lot of time while recuperating to think about blood and its significance. I reread the passage from Exodus 24:6-8, where it says, “Moses took half of the blood and put in bowls and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’”
What will happen if we ask the person on the street, our neighbor next door, our barber or hair dresser, the check out person, “Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb?” Most likely we will be met with a blank look, and they will quickly find an excuse to get away from the weirdo and his obsession with blood.
But could you and I be people who explain in a non-threatening manner how Jesus loves us so much that He traded His life–indeed, His very blood–to bring humanity into a trust relationship with God? God desires a relationship where our self-centeredness and pride are put aside as we acknowledge Jesus Christ and commit our total being to God’s care and keeping.
Prayer: We thank and praise You, O Christ, Lord of Heaven and Earth, for the battle You fought in Gethsemane’s Garden as You sweated those great drops of blood in that awesome struggle between Your humanity and Your deity.
We thank You, O God, for the new agreement written in the blood of Your dear Son, moving us from the age of legalism and law to the glorious freedom and joy found in Your two great commandments. Amen.
Charlie Shannon
Retired AB Pastor
Member of First Baptist Church
Pueblo, CO
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