Dust to Dust?

Scripture: Genesis 3:19 (ESV)

¹⁹          By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

                        till you return to the ground,

for out of it, you were taken;

                        for you are dust,

and to dust, you shall return.

 

Devotion:

            Today, we celebrate (if that’s the right word) two special days on our calendar. The Christian calendar marks Ash Wednesday; the secular calendar marks Valentine's Day. Ash Wednesday marks a day of great solemnity in which we mark our mortality on this earth. Believers go forward to receive ashes on their foreheads to mark the eventual end of their lives in these mortal bodies. Ash Wednesday is not a joyous time but a reverent one. Each person is contemplating the end of life.

            On the other hand, Valentine's Day is a celebration of love. Although the day had its beginnings on the Christian Calendar as St. Valentine’s Day, somewhere along the line, it lost its sacred meaning for a secular one. It has become almost exclusively as a day to celebrate the joys of romantic love.

            Having the two days occurring on the same day provides an interesting contrast. How should we behave? Do we go about contemplating the end of our earthly existence, or do we rejoice in love and good feelings toward all? Or is there some way of combining the two into a coherent whole? The Christian religion helps us see that we can mark both Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day without damaging either one. It acknowledges that, yes, we will all die one day, and these bodies will turn into dust. While at the same time speaking to the timeless character of love.

            In 1 Corinthians 13:8(NIV), St. Paul writes, “⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” Our mortal bodies may pass away, but God’s love for us is eternal. All the things we know may pass away. Yet we will be raised one day in immortal bodies. Bodies are not made of dust but spirit that can never decay or get sick or injured. As Paul writes later in 1 Corinthians 13, “Now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face.” What we can only guess now will be revealed to us in glory.

Prayer:

            Heavenly Father, thank you for our mortal bodies, without which we could never be transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. Your love blesses us daily and will continue to bless us through all eternity. As we are marked with ashes today, let us let our lives be marked with love that will last, though our mortal bodies will not. Glorify your name in us and keep us for the day of your return. Amen.