This is the Day

faith will save you, faith will save you
faith will save you, stay safe
but the wind might change i will still remain
i will still be here
but the wind might change i will still remain
i will always be there for you
faith will save you, faith will save you
faith will save you, stay safe
- The Cranberries

Every time I hear this song, it reminds me of God, and the words he is constantly speaking to my heart. Okay, okay, to be honest, the song is really about people but in reality, God is the only one who can live up to these words. How many times have you promised a friend to "always be there," only to find that "circumstances" get in the way when the need finally arises.

It can be rough when your situation changes dramatically and you feel like you're all alone to face it. We come to depend on certain familiarities in life, whether it's a person, thing, or even just a routine. If you woke up tomorrow with nothing, could you still carry on? If you lost your entire family in a single accident, could you find the motivation to get out of bed each morning and continue to live your life?

We live in a world where very little is certain. Technology tries to tell us that we're invincible, but time and time again we're proven wrong as we get torn down, and must struggle to recover and rebuild.

Check yourself: what do you depend on?

Give Blood, Give Life

"If any Israelite or foreigner living among them eats blood, I will disown that person and cut him off from his people, for the life of an animal is in the blood. I have provided the blood for you to make atonement for your lives on the Altar; it is the blood, the life, that makes atonement. (Leviticus 17:10-11)

Ever since I came to Duke I've been a regular at the campus blood drives. Every two months, I make sure to eat well, and stay hydrated so that my blood is acceptable for use. Why bother? Because I know that there are plenty of people in need, and the 1-2 hour sacrifice is no big deal. When you go, the Red Cross always provides some sort of gift to donors, and this time it included one of those silicone wristbands everyone is crazy about. On first glance it was just a cool way to explain why I had gauze secured to my arm (a heck of a lot better than those "be nice to me, I gave blood" stickers). However, I was looking at it later on and just stopped:

Give blood. Give life.

Take a moment to think about that. As "valuable" as my O+ blood is, it can't really give life. In fact, there is only one person whose blood really can give life, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ. The songwriter says "there is power, power, wonder working power in the blood, of the lamb..." and how true that is. It is only by his stripes, his suffering, his death and resurrection that we are freed from the destructive bonds of sin.

Will the wristband fad fade? Of course. In fact, regardless of what everyone else does I'll probably get tired of wearing mine in the near future, but that's okay, as it's already served its purpose. This moment will come again when the time is right. I don't know about you but I'm thankful for the little reminders God places in my path about who he is and his love for me.

The blood of atonement has already been shed. Have you received the gift of life?

-AMR