RELIGIOUS---How good the blood?

[Guest guest]

It's a Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebodyruns in from the parking lot yelling, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!"And while the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphonestuck up to it, the announcement is made: "Two women are lying in a LongIsland hospital dying from a 'mystery' flu." Within hours it seems, this thingjust sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying tofind an antidote. Nothing is working!

California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts.It's as though it's justsweeping in from the borders. And then, all of a sudden, the news comes out.The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It'sgoing to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected, and so, sureenough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergencybroadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your downtownhospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When youhear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly,quietly, and safely to the hospitals.

Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Fridaynight, there is a long line, and they've got nurses and doctors coming outand pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your wifeand your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say,"Wait here in the parking lot and if we call your name, you can bedismissed and go home."

You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the worldis going on and if this is the end of the world. Suddenly a young man comesrunning out of the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name and waving aclipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says,"Daddy, that's me."

Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. Wait a minute! Hold on!And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We wantto make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the righttype."

Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses, cryingand hugging one another ... some are even laughing. It's the first time youhave seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says,"Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. It's clean, it is pure,and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across thatparking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughingand crying.

Then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "Maywe see you for moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minorand we need ... we need you to sign a consent form." You begin to signand then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken has been leftblank. "H-how many pints?" you ask. And that is when the old doctor's smilefades and he says, "We had no idea it would be little child. We weren't prepared.I'm sorry sir, we need it all!""But but .. You don't understand." "We are talking about the world here.Please sign. We need it all!"

"But can't you give him a transfusion?"

"If we had clean blood we would. Can you sign? Would you sign?" In numbsilence, you do. Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment withhim before we begin?" Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that roomwhere he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?"Canyou take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you, and we wouldnever ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do youunderstand that?"

And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've GOT toget started! People all over the world are dying. Can you leave?"

Can you walk out while he is saying, "Daddy? Mommy? Daddy? Why, why haveyou forsaken me?"

And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son ... somefolks sleep through it ... some folks don't even come because they go tothe lake or the seashore ... some folks come with a pretentious smile andjust pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and scream, "MY SON DIEDFOR YOU! DON'T YOU CARE?" Is that what GOD wants to say? "MY SON DIED FORYOU. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?"

"FATHER, Seeing it from YOUR eyes breaks our hearts.Maybe now we can beginto comprehend the great Love YOUhave for us."