Giving Blood

A little boy was told by his doctor that he could save his sister's life by giving her some blood. The six-year-old girl was near death, a victim of disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier.

Her only chance for restoration was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

"Johnny, would you like to give your blood for Mary?" the doctor asked.

The boy hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled, and said, "Sure, Doc. I'll give my blood for my sister."

Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room - Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and the picture of health. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As his blood siphoned into Mary's veins, one could almost see new life come into her tired body.

The ordeal was almost over when Johnny's brave little voice broke the silence, "Say Doc, when do I die?" It was only then that the doctor realized what the moment of hesitation, the trembling of the lip, had meant earlier.

Little Johnny actually thought that in giving his blood to his sister he was giving up his life! And in that brief moment, the final decision that he had made was the greatest love of all... the unconditional sacrificing love...