Blood Trail

It started off as a crisp October morning. The last day of October, to be exact. As the sun rose on a small field in the furthermost Northwest county in the state, Jackson and I were fighting off the chill that comes with sitting in a stand 15 feet off the ground. Other than the 8 or so squirrels that danced around the corn feeder to our east there was really nothing exciting going on. We talked, played on our phone, and sat listened and checking the edges of the field for movement.

Then it came. From the far side of the field I caught the glimpse of something creeping toward the field but using a large tree as camouflage as he made a sweep of the place with his eyes, ears and nose. Fast forward about 20 minutes and he finally passes by our stand within crossbow range. Jackson takes aim and places a flying bolt just to the front of the small buck’s left shoulder. We waited for 45 minutes before we moved to give it time to lay down and “give up the ghost” on this Halloween morning.

As we climbed down from the stand, two friends met us and the four of us began the task of following the blood trail. When a deer runs off after being shot there is almost always a blood trail to follow. Sometimes it’s very small. The color of the blood tells you where you hit it. The amount tells you how well. And so we walked. The trail was easy to see but hard to follow and the hope of finding the deer dead became increasingly greater with each few steps.

We followed the blood of the deer struck by our bolt. The trail was long and the path through the briars wasn’t easy, but we found him. There was joy. There always is when a hunter finally finds the harvest. It was obvious he struggled and with that thought, you know that the deer pays the price for your pleasure but also your nourishment. Each drop of blood is a somber reminder that your decision brought his death.

Allow me to redo that last paragraph and point your attention to someone else:

We all follow the blood of the lamb struck by our sin. The trail was long and the path through the briars of sin wasn’t easy but we found Him. There was joy. There always is when a sinner finally finds the cross. It was obvious He struggled and with that thought, you know that the Lamb paid the price for your sinful pleasure but also your nourishment. Each drop of His blood is a somber reminder that your decision brought his death.

Ben

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” - Acts 2:36

“…but He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging, we are healed.” - Isaiah 53:5

Photo by Paul Earle on Unsplash