Did you know?
During anesthesia school I had some pretty detailed classes on anatomy and physiology.
Interestingly, when studying the anatomy of a blood cell I
found out that in the middle of every blood cell there is a
lot of squiggly little molecules called hemoglobin. It’s
this stuff called hemoglobin that moves oxygen from the lungs to every part
of the body. Well, on the end of these squiggly little hemoglobins
is a thing called a “heme group.” When looking at pictures
of this “heme group,” I discovered that right in the center
of this “heme group” is a cross. Going further,
right in the center of that molecular cross is an
iron atom (Fe).
Well, when the blood passes into the lungs, it goes through a
very thin layer—so thin that it actually allows an oxygen
molecule (O2) from the air to connect with that iron
atom. This process brings “breath” to every part of
the body. (Now, I don’t want to take this too far, you
have to bear with me—anesthesia school can be
pretty boring!) As I saw this, the whole thing made
me meditate on the passage found in Hebrews 4:12: “For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.” In my boring anatomy class, my
mind wandered to ... “Where is that place in human anatomy,
‘between soul and spirit?’” In Greek, the
word spirit literally means breath; and the heme group is the
very spot where “breath” connects with us. In
this way, the blood—by bringing breath—actually
brings life to every part of our body. And just for fun …
I later found out that most historians believe that the nails used to crucify
Jesus on the cross were made out of iron (Fe)—the very thing
that is at the center of all of this amazing stuff. ~Dean Taylor
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