The other day I made a significant discovery while walking
in the woods. There in the trail lay a buck’s shed antler from earlier this
year. It is remarkable that I found it in such great shape, as there appeared
to be hardly any evidence of the chewing of rodents. Deer will shed their
antlers so they can grow a new set each year. With this being the case, it’s
not really a loss for the buck, because it leads to new growth with a new pair
of antlers. There is something bigger and better that will come as a result of
what he shed.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ shed his blood and He lost
his life. However, that was not the end of the matter. Not only was Jesus
raised from the dead, but the blood that He shed led to some great things. As He was instituting the Lord’s Supper on the
night of his betrayal, He said “for this is my blood of the new testament,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt. 26:28, KJV). As the
writer of Hebrews reflected on the Old Law, he says “…without shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). The forgiveness of our sins was only made
possible by the shedding of Christ’s blood.
Another thing that was much more significant was what the
blood of Jesus bought. When Paul was giving his farewell address to the
Ephesian elders at Miletus, he said the church was purchased with the blood of
Christ (Acts 20:28). The institution that we are a part of today as members of
the body of Christ was bought with blood. Even as Peter says that we were
redeemed by “…precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood
of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:19).
The shedding of Christ’s blood is something that we need
constant reminders of, for it is of the utmost significance for the Christian
who is the recipient of the cleansing effects of His blood and a citizen of
God’s household, the church. The next time I see a shed antler I’ll be reminded
by what came about as a result of the shedding of the blood of Jesus.
