Every year over 4,800 people die in the United States from choking according to the US National Safety Council.  Learning of this problem, Dr. Henry J. Heimlich became interested and after doing the necessary research, invented a lifesaving technique that came to be called the “Heimlich Maneuver.”  Those using this technique grasp the victim from behind, clasping their fists together and then pushing in and above the navel squeeze the abdomen abruptly creating a flow of air from the lungs.  This sudden flow of air can push objects out of the windpipe preventing possible suffocation.  Since the technique was developed in 1974 it is estimated that more than 100,000 lives have been saved in the United States alone.

The man who gave so much to the world died at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati December 17, 2016 following complications from a massive heart attack he suffered on Monday in his home at Duepree House in Hyde Park. He was 96 years-old.  Dr Heimlich’s family said he had been “a hero to many people around the world.”

This news account reminds us of the One who gave the most.  He gave a gift that saved many lives.   God gave Himself supremely in the incarnation.  God gave himself daily while on earth.  God gave himself sacrificially on the cross.  God gives Himself in continuing grace.  God gives those who believe on Him the promise of eternal life.