Dust
Dust
Major Thomas McWilliams
Metro Atlanta Area Commander
Georgia Division
USA Southern Territory
Old Photos
While browsing through an antique store, I found a trove of black-and-white photographs being sold for fifty cents each. Included among the photos was a woman in a wedding dress standing next to a smiling man in a tuxedo, a headshot of a young man in what appeared to be a WWII-era naval uniform, an elderly couple standing next to a tractor, a baby lying on a blanket, and a group of various-aged people sitting together on a wooden front porch. As I was leafing through the pictures, I was struck by the thought that each image was an important moment captured in time that was now being sold to me for spare change.
My mind wandered over each photograph of these strangers who had lived lives filled with joys, sorrows, wonders, and fears. They had worked jobs, loved family, and interacted with countless others I would never meet. Everyone I was looking at through time had sketched out life plans and imagined grand visions for their future. They had experienced days filled with great surprises and laughter and other moments of great difficulty and tears. To say it another way, they were human.
Meaningless?
While casually thumbing through the lives of strangers from the past, it was tempting to drift into the thought that life is futile and that one hundred years from now, everything I experience, feel, and value today will be lost to time. This truth drove King Solomon to write, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). As people, we are far more fragile and temporary than we might like to consider. We will, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return” (Ecclesiastes 3:20).
God-breathed
However, as blood-bought children of God, we know we are more than just earthy dirt walking around. We are created beings formed by the very hands and breath of God. “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). And though we are still dirt, we have the assurance that our God-breathed soul will enter through the gates of an eternal heaven to live forever with our Creator. “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
However, though the blood of Christ has redeemed us, we are still frail dust and, therefore, prone to spiritual failures. The English pastor Robert Robinson in 1758 in his song, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” verbalized this weakness when he wrote,
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Fortunately for us, even though we fail the Lord, He still loves us because He remembers how we are made. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
Heavenly Treasures
Given enough time, the world will forget about us and may sell our important and cherished treasures to strangers for fifty cents. Therefore, we should live our lives as people filled with the Lord's joy and focus on accumulating heavenly treasures, knowing that every worldly achievement we strive for, every glory we fight for, every victory we sacrifice for, and every recognition we struggle to attain is a vaporous moment that is here today and gone tomorrow. As James wrote, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
Decide to enjoy this wonderful life the Lord has given you and strive to live so that the Lord will remember and eternally gift His grace-filled rewards to you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).
Our Corporate Prayer
Dear Lord, Help us never to forget that we are but dust, that our existence on this earth is brief and that we live our lives against the backdrop of eternity. Sometimes that makes us feel so small and insignificant, which is important because we need to be reminded of how much we need You. But then we remember what You did with a handful of dust. With it all the human race sprang into existence! You work wonders with what seems nothing. And I remember the great wonders You have worked in my life, the blessings that You have designed just for me, my specific prayers You have answered, and the joy You have given me along the way. I am small, but You have noticed me and loved me. Thank You, my good and gracious God. I praise You through the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Worldwide Prayer Meeting
Taiwan Region
Thinking It Through
Why is it good to both remember that we are both made from dust and that we are a child of the King? What if we forget both truths that seem to be a paradox?
Notable Quotables
Many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? Because so many have stored up their treasures on earth, not in heaven. Each day brings us closer to death. If your treasures are on earth, that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures. - Randy Alcorn
In conclusion, we bring you the song mentioned in this article sung by Matt Boswell, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing."
We would appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions on how to improve these devotionals. Please email comments to: SpiritualLifeDevelopment@uss.salvationarmy.org or by going to our website: https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/uss/spiritual-life-development.
We would love to hear from you.
Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee
Territorial Spiritual Life Development Officer/THQ Chaplain
USA Southern Territory