April 2008
Humility befits 'Once fallen dust!'
In Micah 6:8 we find a clear definition
of what is good and what
the Lord requires of us. The prophet tells us to do justice, and
to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God. The call to humility
is amplified by one of the first names God ever gave us. In Genesis 2:7
we are told "the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." And then some time later,
Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God pointed to Adam and said: "You
are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Psalm 103:14 tells
us that God knows how we are formed and he remembers that we are dust.
With a God-given name like "dust" the multi-layered theological
question then becomes: What did the dust ever do, to deserve the touch of God
that formed it into a human body? What did that formed dust ever do to deserve
the breath of God that gave it live? And when that formed and living dust rebelled
against God and fell into sin, what did that fallen dust ever do to deserve the
love of God that forgave it, redeemed it and brought it back to life?
And the answer is - nothing! Fallen dust is worthless! So how can that once
fallen dust now find room for pride? How can it now boast of knowledge or strength
or talent or athleticism or beauty? How can it calculate its acquired wealth or
power or fame and say to itself: "I am!" How can it look at other particles of
once fallen dust and say to itself: "I am more!"
Humility befits once fallen dust!
Blessings,
Pastor Mike
