A few weeks ago when I had to have blood drawn for a major blood test, I decided not to watch during part of the draw. With some comparing of milliliters and tablespoons, we guessed that about 2/3 cup of blood was drawn from my veins that day. I hoped I would not faint.
I did not. But all that blood was a rather awesome sight.
My blood was valuable to me. Had they drawn much more, I would have started to be in bad shape. I need my blood!
But I can't help thinking of One Who shed all of His life blood for sinners like me.
He shed it all, and died.
God chose to forgive sins through the medium of blood, for without the shedding of blood, Paul wrote, there is no forgiveness.
In logic, one learns that there is such a thing as Opposite truth value--i.e. A statement and its negation always have opposite truth values.
So when the Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, then the opposite is also true--Because of Jesus shedding His blood, there is, in fact, remission of sins.
The formal definition of remission is forgiveness, but it also means "the cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty."
Today as I sat in my kitchen on this quiet Sunday afternoon, I was reliving something that had happened many years ago. It was as vivid as if it had just happened.
It was not a good or a happy memory.
Sin was involved.
And then I was thinking about other memories that were not good.
Is He regurgitating these things to me, or is the devil?
I was still pondering some of these things on our way to church this evening.
I was sitting in the back seat of the Honda with a basket of hot biscuits in my lap that Crystal had made to take along for the supper. We were driving along with a young man who is visiting SIM mission for 10 days, pointing out the names of different native housing developments such as Swift Bear Community, Lower Swift Bear, and Horse Creek.
And I was looking at all those homes in this bitter cold weather, wondering what God was seeing inside--all the sadness and loneliness and sin.
What sin was He seeing that we couldn't even start to see?
And then I started thinking about other sin again--from way back a long time ago.
And it was such a comfort to suddenly realize that something was gently speaking to me--
"Doesn't the blood of Jesus cover sin?"
Does it, or does it not?
I can rejoice humbly in being forgiven and in having my sins covered by Jesus' blood as well as rejoice that I can also forgive others who have wronged me, and keep their sins under the blood, too,
as far as I am concerned.
What a burden lifted to know that sins, however many or of whatever size, may be covered by the blood of Christ and that is enough for me.
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