Nothing but the Blood

Originally posted April 1, 2010

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

There is an interesting thought about the redemption of sinners. It is that we are cleansed by Christ's sacrifice - the actual blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 says, “…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

We see sacrifice as a thing of the past. We no longer put lambs or doves on alters and give them up to God. We don't relate to this type of thing anymore. Or do we? Back then, sacrifice showed two things, obedience and love. They sacrificed because they trusted God. And in trusting him he poured his blessings on them. In receiving blessing they returned to him in love, praise, adoration.

There are times today in my workplace where someone will sacrifice. Someone might have to leave and therefore someone else has to pick up the slack. What they sacrifice may not be immediately obvious, but they are doing it for the greater good. When the person returns, they are grateful and feel the debt of gratitude.

Or how about in the home, with your spouse or children. Or what about with your family. How many times have you sacrificed for them? When you think about this action, at the core, you find love.

When Christ died for us, it was for a greater purpose than anybody at the time could fully understand. Even today it is a bit mystical. But the core of what occurred is one man sacrificed himself so that the rest of humanity might know the love of God. There was pain and suffering for Christ, but there was grace and mercy for us.

With sacrifice, one hurts, another is healed.