[EDITOR’S NOTE] This article was written and published almost 20 years ago in the Messianic Hebrew journal “Me-Et Le-Et” [From Time to Time], October 2001. It has been translated to English because of it’s relevance more now than ever.
A pandemic threatens the global population and the world needs people to donate blood that does not carry the virus. You and your son can help. The price would be heavy and painful for both of you, but this could be the only way to save the world.
You’ve finished work and you are driving home listening to the news. Toward the end of the segment you hear a brief report about a small village in India where a few inhabitants have died of some unknown flu. The new disease is of interest to the scientific community and a delegation of scientists from the United States is going to India to study it.
You forget this, but a few days later you hear that the number of victims of this disease has steadily risen reaching 30,000 people. The news leads the headlines this evening.
At this stage, an Israeli delegation is set up to go to India to help study this disease and potential treatments.
The next day everyone is talking only about this. It turns out, not only are people dying in India, but in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran as well. The mysterious epidemic dominates global headlines.
The French president shocks everyone when he announces the cessation of all incoming flights and the closure of airports until the source of the disease and its cause are discovered. That evening, the news reports that Europe’s first patient was admitted to a hospital in Sweden. His sobbing wife recalls his rapid deterioration and, later that night, the man passes away. All of Europe is panicking.
Doctors say that those who have contracted the disease carry it without their knowledge for a week, then suffer for three or four days. Everyone who has been diagnosed with the mystery disease dies.
England closes its borders, but it is too late: A patient was discovered in Liverpool. The first case was also discovered in Indiana in the United States and the next day two more cases are discovered in California and Florida. Flights around the world are discontinued. International travel has ended.
Another day passes and the bitter news reaches Israel as well. A number of patients are hospitalized at Rambam Hospital in Haifa and several at Hadassah Ein Karem in Jerusalem. Panic takes over. Most people are quarantined at home. Those who do go out wear surgical masks.
Within one day, hospitals are full. In Europe and the United States, thousands are dead from this terrible plague.
On Friday night the news reports that scientists have found a cure for this disease! In order to produce the drug, a blood donation is needed from someone with a specific genetic composition and who does not carry the disease. Across the world blood tests are being administered. Medical authorities go from house to house, taking blood tests from every family.
On Sunday morning, the phone rings at your home.
“I’m calling from Assaf HaRofeh Hospital. Your son’s blood matches the drug manufacturer’s requirements. Please come to the hospital immediately.”
The doctors are waiting for you at the entrance, smiling and laughing — this is the first time in the last 10 days you see someone smiling. You seat your son in a wheelchair and accompany him to the lab.
After a few minutes, one of the doctors approaches you.
“I need you to sign this form,” he says.
You pull out a pen, but then you notice the form doesn’t specify how much blood they intend to draw.
“How much blood do you need to take from him?”
The doctor looks away. “We didn’t know the donor would be a young child. We need all the blood in his body.”
“Can’t you give him a transfusion of another blood?”
“If we had clean blood we would have, but right now there is no time to look. People all over the world are dying … Will you sign?”
An oppressive silence ensues. Everyone understands the meaning of your signature.
“Do you want a few minutes to say goodbye to the boy?” the doctor asks.
You ponder what you would say to your young son. Would you tell him, “Don’t worry, Dad will never let anyone hurt you. I love you.” Or do you just sign and leave without saying a word. After all, the doctor will probably return soon to rush the process since people all over the world are dying. Will you walk away while your son cries out, “Dad, Mom, why did you leave me?”
Five years later, no one remembers your son. A few relatives and several close friends gather with you at the cemetery. Your son, who saved the world, has been forgotten. Nobody seems to understand what a heavy price you paid, as if your sacrifice didn’t hurt compared to the thousands lost to this disease.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we not treat the one who saved us the same way? We act as if Yeshua and his father felt no pain. We take God’s sacrifice for granted and forget the pain He when His son cried out, “Abba, Abba, why did you forsake me?”
With this in mind we must ask ourselves: Do we prefer going to the beach over going to congregation? Do we prefer being accepted by society over calling people to repentance? Do we prefer watching useless TV shows over studying the Bible? Do we put our own desires for our lives over the Lord’s desires for us?
We must take a serious look inside ourselves and ask if we truly understand the heavy price God and His son paid so that we do not die.