A couple years ago my wife and I decided to make a change in our life insurance policy carrier. My Allstate agent, Ryan Grothaus, offered better coverage and a better rate so it was an easy decision. I'm not aware of discounts for mentioning my agent in my blog, but when they introduce that discount, I've got it covered.
The paperwork was a breeze, but as is the case with most policies, my wife and I needed to go for a blood check. I made the appointment and listened with moderate interest to the instructions for the test. A few weeks past and a reminder for the test popped up on my phone. It was a busy day, which meant I needed to pick up lunch on the way to the test. Again, I listened with moderate - correction - little interest to the instructions for the blood test. I arrived early to the clinic, and while I waited outside for my wife, I methodically devoured a whopper value meal. With a handful of fries to spare, my wife walked through the doors and immediately gasped. "What are you doing?" As I started to explain the obvious, she cut me off and exclaimed, "You were supposed to fast. This is a blood test!"
Oops. Now what do I do? This was unfamiliar territory. I've certainly made the mistake of not listening before but never did it relate to life insurance blood screens. The immediate question was, do I finish the rest of the fries? The bigger question, however, was will they let me take this test over again? Before I could decide on the fries, the nurse called me in. I decided to bring the evidence with me to prove to her that she shouldn't order a triple bypass for me following the results. She chuckled and said that we would go ahead with this test, and if necessary, do another in a couple weeks (and hopefully I would listen to the instructions for that one).
A week passed and the nurse finally called with the results. My cholesterol has always been normal so I knew that any kind of spike would be the fault of the king and his tasty creation. I listened to the voicemail and was shocked to hear that my results were all normal. Wow! I knew the Whopper was yummy but never did I think it had this kind of effect. Obviously it is possible that the food hadn't made it into my blood stream yet or maybe it was the root beer I washed it down with that helped to neutralize the toxins. Is it possible that this was a magic Whopper that had special medicinal powers? Whatever the case, I was relieved to have avoided another needle.
I was sharing this story with a few friends last week and upon further reflection, I began to think of a favorite scripture in Hebrews. In chapter 10, the author states, "for our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water." Now unlike my magical whopper, this is not just helpful, but life changing. The blood of Christ has the power to cleanse us of our sins and bring peace to our guilty consciences. Because of the love and grace of God, our past - whether 10 minutes ago or 10 years ago - can truly be our past.
I had totally forgotten about this story and the mistake I made at the clinic. But I'm sure that's because I didn't have to pay for it. We've all had mistakes that we have had to pay for though. Some have been very painful. Thankfully, because of the blood of Christ, I don't have to live in shame for past mistakes. And even more, I don't have to pay for them either. All of this reminds me of an old hymn my Grandfather loved to sing - "There's Power in the Blood." There most certainly is.
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