Boston Children's Hospital

He Didn't Have To

 

Sloan St. James’ parents knew something was wrong with their little girl when she was about 4 months old.  Her jaundice wasn’t going away and her stomach was swelling.

 

A trip to Boston Children’s Hospital and a two-week stay revealed a dire diagnosis of biliary atresia, a disease of the bile ducts that affects only infants.  According to the American Liver Foundation, in biliary atresia, the bile ducts become inflamed and blocked soon after birth.  This causes bile to remain in the liver, where it starts to destroy liver cells rapidly and cause cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver.  Without successful treatment, few children with biliary atresia live beyond age two.

 

Little Sloan desperately needed a liver transplant to live.

 

A police officer in Keene, New Hampshire, Lt. Steven Tenney, learned of Sloan’s need when his brother saw posts on Facebook about a classmate’s 4-month-old daughter who had been diagnosed with stage four liver failure and needed a life-saving transplant.

 

Tenney signed up to get tested to see if he could be a donor.  He was elated to discover he was a match.  The family was notified and plans were made for the transplant surgeries.

 

“We had so many people praying for us and for Sloan, and to hear that we had a match and that surgery was going to happen in a couple days was a miracle,” St. James told Boston 25 News.

 

Sloan received about 19 percent of Tenney’s liver.  Two months after the surgeries, both are doing well.  See the link below for a picture of a recent reunion of the pair.

 

So why did a complete stranger respond to the needs of a little girl?  “If you can help a 4-month-old baby, you kind of have to do it,” Tenney told The News Outlet. *

 

No, Lt. Tenney, you didn’t have to; you wanted to, and thank you for doing it!

 

When you and I were lost in sin and destined for eternal destruction, Jesus died on the cross for us so that we can be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 1:7).

 

Although it was the will of the Heavenly Father for His Son Jesus to die for us, Jesus didn’t have to do it.  He willingly laid down His life for us because of His love for us.

 

Jesus said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father.” – John 10:17-18

 

Jesus didn’t have to do it; He wanted to, and it was the only way to save mankind.

 

In order to receive the eternal benefits of His atoning sacrifice, we must place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, as we continue to walk in the light of His Word, His blood that He shed in His death, will continue to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

 

Won’t YOU accept His glorious offer on His terms?  He is your only means of salvation!  And He died for you because He wanted to.

 

-- David A. Sargent

 

* From “Massachusetts baby gets life-saving liver transplant from New Hampshire police officer” in Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/11/28/massachusetts-baby-gets-life-saving-liver-transplant-from-new-hampshire-police-officer.html

 

David A. Sargent, Minister