Jesus: Our Blood Donor

 "The Life is in the blood."  Leviticus 17:11

Most people, when they retire, get a gold watch. James Harrison deserves so much more than that.

Harrison, known as the “Man With the Golden Arm,” has donated blood nearly every week for 60 years. After all those donations, the 81-year-old Australian man “retired” Friday. The occasion marked the end of a monumental chapter.

According to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, he has helped saved the lives of more than 2.4 million Australian babies. Harrison’s blood has unique, disease-fighting antibodies that have been used to develop an injection called Anti-D, which helps fight against rhesus disease.

Harrison’s remarkable gift of giving started when he had major chest surgery when he was just 14, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service said. Blood donations saved his life, so he pledged to become a blood donor. A few years later, doctors discovered his blood contained the antibody which could be used to create Anti-D injections, so he switched over to making blood plasma donations to help as many people as possible.

As great as Mr. Harrison’s dedication was there is someone else whose blood donation was even greater, Jesus Christ. Jesus is a blood-donor not a blood-shedder. “The life is in the blood,” as the Scripture says. The New Testament doesn’t so much teach “forgiveness OF sin” as it does “freedom FROM sin.” Jesus’ blood is not just about paying for our past transgressions but rather providing for our future transfusion. He wants to infusion us with His life.