Hello Saints,
During this time of COVID-19, blood supplies are low. It’s not due to high demand but rather a shortage of donations.[1] People are still paranoid because of the coronavirus, which is understandable. But, as kingdom people, we need to step and share our blood, it is not ours to keep, and we are not taking any of it with us. God gave us our body, mind, and spirit, which is on loan to us. We get to choose if we are going to use it for God’s glory or ourselves. Trust me, sharing everything you have with others, including your blood, is not only holy but grants you the most satisfaction a person can achieve in life.
Around the country, many blood drives are going on, and we happen to have one today at Hillsboro UMC, from 2:30 to 6:30 PM. I encourage you to make plans to donate blood today, it will make a big difference in someone else’s life, and you may even possibly save a life. One day you may need blood to save your life, and you will be at the mercy of other people for this life-giving substance we call blood or plasma. You must wait for at least eight weeks (56 days) between donations of whole blood and 16 weeks (112 days) between Power Red donations. Platelet apheresis donors may give every 7 days up to 24 times per year. Regulations are different for those giving blood for themselves (autologous donors).[2]
Between COVID-19, the wildfires out West, hurricane season, violence on the rise, social unrest, and flu season around the corner, the demand for blood is on the rise. Commit to becoming a regular blood donor and give as often as you can. There are some of you because of current medical impairments prevent you from giving blood, and that is understandable. But for most of us, this isn’t the case, so make the commitment and share your blood with others who desperately need it.
God has a lot to say about blood and why we need to share it. Though the Bible never speaks directly to giving blood, it does speak to the spiritual principle of living an other-centered life throughout the whole Bible. There are three common themes in Scripture, which are justice, righteousness, and peace. Justice is giving something to others that they need. Not because they necessarily deserve it, but because they need it. When we give blood, we don’t know who the benefactor of our blood donation will be, and it doesn’t matter who it is, because we are one among many trying to help all those in need of blood. Not because they deserve it, but because they need it.
We can start at the beginning of the Bible and discover that blood is the physical representation of life (Genesis 9:4). There are several accounts in Scripture where God instructs his people not to eat meat that still had lifeblood in it. Again the book of Genesis is evident on the importance of this life-giving agent that we call blood, 5 For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal, I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image, God made humankind (Genesis 9:5-6). God values blood, so much so that He gave His own blood by sacrificing His only Son for our behalf (Hebrews 10:22; 1 John 1:7).
Some religions, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, wrongly believe that the Bible prohibits blood transfusions, citing many of the above Scriptures as their supposed evidence. However, these Scriptures are all about eating blood, not donating it so that someone else can live. Those religions put unscriptural emphasis on the blood itself, rather than the Spirit behind the prohibition against consuming blood. From JW.org: “The Bible commands that we do not ingest blood. So we should not accept whole blood or its primary components in any form, whether offered as food or as a transfusion.” That’s quite a jump, from “eating” to “transfusing,” and one not supported by Scripture. Contrary to the claims of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other such religions, there is nothing in the Bible that prohibits the practice of donating or receiving donated blood.[3]
Jesus is the ultimate blood donor because He shed His blood for the whole world so that all could live in the kingdom of God, both here on earth and for eternity. God gave us the double commandment to love God and our neighbor. By donating our blood, we are living out part two of this double commandment (Mark 12:31). We must always remember what Jesus taught us was the greatest act of love, known to humankind, and that is to lay down one’s lives for a friend. Since we are called to lay down our lives for others, please be committed to sharing your blood anonymously. By doing so, we are answering the kingdom calling we have on our lives, which is our duty, and it makes our Heavenly Father smile upon us (John 15:13).
If you have been committed to giving blood in the past, present, or future, let me say thank you. You are making a big difference in the lives of others and helping advance the kingdom of God here on earth, which is the calling all Christians have on their lives. I hope to see you at a blood drive soon, and maybe we’ll meet and enjoy some cookies and pretzels afterward before they allow us to venture home.
Shalom,
Pastor Harold Long
[1] https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/critical-blood-shortages-because-of-covid-19/
[2] https://www.redcrossblood.org/faq.html#:~:text=You%20must%20wait%20at%20least,for%20themselves%20(autologous%20donors).
JOCELYN HOLLAND says
Thank you Pastor Harold and thank you to all our members who gave blood and double reds at Monday’s Blood drive. Our church was well represented. Our total was 25 units with our church family donating 12! In a short four hours, we may have helped as many as 75 people! Well done.