BLOOD!

I had black pudding at a restaurant here in Aberdeen the other day. A sausage … made with blood! Congealed fresh pork blood. Boiled in casings. Then fried. A British delicacy, particularly with breakfast. But not unknown in the rest of the world: blatwurst in Germany, boudin noir in Cajun country, morcilla in the Spanish-speaking world, blood tofu in the Far East. And ancient enough to have merited a mention in Homer’s Odyssey (ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

Blood sausage! Does that make you grimace?

But blood is an amazing liquid. You have at least 5+ litres of the good stuff, holding 300 million RBCs per drop. They do an incredible lap of 12,000 miles a day (= 4 times coast to coast across the U.S.) delivering oxygen and nutrients to the body and exchanging wastes and carbon dioxide. The stuff of life. Literally. A loss of it can kill you. So can a myriad of hematological diseases—underproduction, overproduction, failure to clot, inappropriate clotting, malignancies, genetic abnormalities. The fluid of life.

The Bible agrees:

For the life of the flesh
is in the blood …
Leviticus 17:11

However there is more to this assertion. The rest of the verse goes on to say …

… it is the blood
by reason of the life
that makes atonement.
Leviticus 17:11

What’s this stuff about atonement?

You see, the problem with me, and you, and the rest of the world is sin! Sin is intrinsic to the human condition. Sin creates a barrier between humanity and deity. There can be no communion between the two; darkness and light cannot co-exist. And the ultimate consequence of sin is dreadful one, indeed—eternal separation from God who is infinitely holy. Unless … the price of sin is paid and sin is atoned for.

That’s where the hematological motif in the Bible comes into play.

… without shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22

In His abundant mercy and awesome love, God opened a way for mankind to enjoy communion with Him, now and forever. He, Himself, Jesus Christ, would pay the price of sin. That’s what God did on the cross, bearing my sin and yours, paying for it with His life, in my place and yours. His blood shed to wash away our sins.

In Him we have redemption
through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace,
which He lavished on us.
Ephesians 1:7–8

The moment one places one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior from sin, believing that He died on the cross and rose again the third day—the payment made fully, finally, and forever—at that moment of faith, the slate is wiped clean. Sin is no longer an issue between the believer and God. Eternal life with God has begun! What a lavish grace—an undeserved, free gift! What a demonstration of God’s indescribable love!

For God so loved the world,
that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
John 3:16

If you haven’t come to that decision, may I urge you to place your trust in Christ? The most important decision of your life now and life forever!

Have you been to Jesus
for the cleansing power?
Are you washed
in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting
in His grace this hour?
Are you washed
in the blood of the Lamb?
Elisha A. Hoffman (1878)

Oh, and the black pudding? It was alright.