Ashes and Dust

Ashes and Dust

Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return. Genesis 3:19

 

   At 51 years of age I can tell my body is aging. I work out and am in relatively good shape, but my knees creak and my back gets sore quickly and I know that my physical capacities are limited. My years to live are getting fewer and the end of life is getting closer. Ashes and dust are more real than ever before.

   ‘Ashes to ashes and dust to dust’ is a phrase we hear at funerals, reminding us that our bodies were given to us from the dust by God and our bodies return to ashes and dirt of the grave. Earthly life is short and fragile. The thought of ashes and dust reminds us that our earthly vessel is not the most important thing in life.

   Today is the beginning of the Lenten Season, known as Ash Wednesday. It is formally observed in services and private reflection today across the world for many Christians. It is the first day of the lead up to the celebration of the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Some Christians will wear the sign of ashes in the form of a cross on their foreheads or hands today as a physical and hopeful reminder that our temporal life of ashes will become a new body and spirit as a gift from a victorious Savior.

   The more wear and tear my body takes each year, the less I need ashes to remind me of my own mortality. But ashes and oil from the palm branches of last season is an appropriate sign that gives us all pause to consider the ultimate sacrifice of God for the children of the world.

   Be reflective this Ash Wednesday of your own life. Consider how short life really is within our fragile bodies. Take a moment to contemplate that time on earth is fleeting, precious and has a certain end.

   Ashes and dust cannot contain the spirit and the confidence of an eternal life of peace, love and splendor. Christ prepared a place for those who love Him and the grave with all its ashes and dust cannot contain us. 

   Happy Ash Wednesday!