Letters From Grandpa #234

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA # 234 Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will deal with the subject of the resurrection. In this regard let us listen to Paul before King Agrippa: “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead”? (Acts 26:8). If I could raise the dead that would be incredible. If you could raise the dead that would be incredible. If medical science could raise the dead that would be incredible. But what is incredible about God raising the dead?

First let us consider the human body from two different perspectives. On the one hand it is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:4). On the other hand it is a “lowly body” with aches, pains, and problems. The “good news” involves the resurrection that will transform our “lowly bodies” so that they will be pain free and permanent like His glorious body (Phil. 3:21).

The Bible teaches that the life of our flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Here are some remarkable facts about blood taken from an article by J. D. Ratcliff in an old issue of in Today’s Health:

m The circulatory system of the human body is estimated to be from 60,000 — 100,000 miles long. This is longer than any U.S. railroad.

m Arteries relax as the heart beats and contract in between beats, thus supplying the tiniest branches of this system with a smooth supply of life giving blood.

m There are 6 to 7 quarts of blood in the average adult, containing 30 trillion minute discs, or red cells. These red cells are born and destroyed at the stupendous rate of 72 million per minute. As they are destroyed, however, the body salvages 85 % of their vital iron which is returned to the bone marrow for the manufacture of new hemoglobin. Without this ability to preserve iron we would all die of anemia.

m There is approximately a quart of oxygen circulating in your blood at all times. In the lungs the hemoglobin in your blood gives up carbon dioxide and soaks up oxygen. In the cells of your body the reverse takes place, it gives off oxygen and takes on carbon dioxide.

m Capillaries are microscopic junction points between arteries and veins. They are so small that real blood cells must pass through them in single file. Capillary walls are thought to be porous allowing oxygen and nourishment to pass through to the body and carbon dioxide and wastes to flow back through to the blood.

m The kidneys are elaborate filtering devices containing 64 miles of piping. Every 24 hours the kidneys separate 180 quarts of filtrate from the blood. Two quarts of urea and ammonia are extracted and the other 178 quarts of purified blood are returned to the system.

m The speed of the blood flowing through our body is controlled by the vasomotor center in the base of the brain. Blood flows slowly when we are resting or sleeping, but during periods of strenuous activity the flow of blood must be increased to supply extra energy and dispose of extra waste.

m Blood contains an array of proteins, each with a specific function. One carries iodine for the thyroid glands, another carries phosphorus for the teeth, the third carries calcium for the bones.

m The liver is the bloods master regulatory organ. It is the liver’s job to see that blood contains at all times the exact amount of sugar needed by muscles and the precise amount of amino acids required for tissue building and repair. When you have eaten too much the liver must store what it can and destroy the rest. A reserve supply of aminos and glycogen is kept on hand for emergencies.

m When a person dies their arteries empty themselves. Ancient anatomists discovered this and thought them to be air passages, hence the word “artery” which is derived from the Latin word for windpipe. It was not until 1628 that William Harvey, the great English physician,

announced his discovery of the circulation of blood. Some feel the circulation of blood is mentioned in the Bible (Eccl. 12:6).

The Scriptures teach unequivocally that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). Our resurrected bodies will therefore have a new and improved life system that will not require blood. “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor. 15:42-44)

We didn’t leave the Stone Age because we ran out of rocks, but because we found something superior to make tools out of. In this same way our amazing blood will also be replaced with something better. Somehow the resurrected Jesus was able to go in and out of locked rooms with a gaping hole in his side that didn’t bleed.

I Corinthians 15 is called the “Resurrection Chapter” of the Bible. The first part of the chapter

deals with the resurrection of Jesus. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus assume a new significance because they all happened “according to the Scriptures” (vss. 3-8). Further if Christ has not been raised from the dead our faith is useless and we are yet in our sins (v. 14).

When someone asked “how” the dead are raised Paul made reference to seeds (vss. 35-49).

How simple! How profound! If God can bring fresh new life out of a rotten potato, He can certainly bring fresh new life out of creatures like us who have been created in His image. Just as the farmer plants his seed in hope of the harvest, we bury our dead in hope of the resurrection!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce