The River Of Life In The Blood

When my wife’s kidneys failed, she had to go on dialysis in order to live. Dialysis cleanses the blood of impurities. If the blood isn’t cleansed daily, a person would quickly die. There have been times when my wife had to get a blood transfusion because her blood platelets or hemoglobin were too low. The only way to get off of Dialysis is to receive a new Kidney, either through a donor, or a supernatural gifting from God.

I carry an organ donor card in my wallet. Unfortunately, I couldn't donate a kidney to my wife because my blood didn’t meet any of the Antigen markers needed to insure a near perfect match. A new Kidney was never found and she lived the rest of her life hooked up to a machine.

I want to share with you the wonders of the blood running through our veins which will help to bring greater insight - and understanding - why Jesus had to shed His blood to forgive sin. The amazing reality that there is more to blood than one could ever imagine will be revealed, and why Christians become children of the beautiful God through trusting-faith in the blood of Jesus.

The Biology of Blood

Blood is the river of life for every living creature. It is a very complex liquid tissue that is made up of 45% moist solids and 55% of a yellowish fluid called plasma composed of 90% water which contains platelets along with red and white blood cells. Water, the single largest component of the body, is essential to the existence of every living cell. The water of the plasma is freely exchangeable with that of body cells and other extracellular fluids and is available to maintain the normal state of hydration of all tissues.

The blood cells are circulated through the arteries and veins by the heart an average of 72 times per minute, over 100,000 times in a day, and almost 38 million times in one year! It pumps just over one gallon per minute, 1,900 gallons per day, and nearly 700,000 gallons per year. Each pulse of the heart produces a vibration in the blood as it carries oxygen and hundreds of different substances such as neurotransmitters (chemical messengers), antibodies and nutrients including vitamins, proteins, amino acids, minerals, glucose, antibodies, hormones and blood cells to, and waste materials away from, the 30 trillion cells that make up the tissues of the human body. The blood cells continually change throughout each day with as many as 200 billion cells being destroyed and replaced.

All of these substances are regulated by other body systems. Oxygen levels rise and fall with each breath. The levels of various nutrients fluctuate throughout the day as one eats, works, and rests. The types and amounts of neurotransmitters flowing through the body are determined by the way a person responds to both physical and emotional influences. Positive and negative emotions cause the body to be flooded with various chemical messages that can be either helpful or harmful, depending upon their emotional and physical responses.

The Beauty of Blood

The major types of blood cells are red blood cells, lymphocytes, and phagocyte cells which make up the white blood cells, and platelets. Each type of blood cell has a specialized function.

Red cells take up oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to the tissues requiring oxygen and also transport it back to the lungs. Each cell is composed of chemically complex lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates in a highly organized structure that is enclosed in a thin membrane permeable to water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, glucose, urea, and other substances. The red cells tolerate incredible twisting and turning that occurs as they get distorted passing through the blood vessels, many of which are smaller than the red cell itself. Then, once they pass through the various sized vessels, they spring back to their original shape.

White blood cells as a group are involved in reparative activity and immunity, protecting the body from foreign substances as well as helping the body's defense mechanisms, ingesting and breaking down microorganisms and foreign particles that cause infection and inflammation. As living cells, their survival depends on their continuous production of energy.

Platelets play an important role and participate in forming blood clots by adhering to blood vessel walls and sealing over points of injury and plugging up the defect. They also store and transport several chemicals, including serotonin, epinephrine, and histamine. The Platelets and the Red and White blood cells are formed in the marrow of the bones.

To maintain healthy blood production so that the immune system will ward off sickness and disease as it defends against the attacks of foreign cells and substances, a person must walk in trusting-faith through humility as they, “fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” For it “shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Prov 3:7-8 KJV).