From dust you came, to dust you will return.

February 26, 2020
Today’s devotion is based on the Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust, you will return.”

Today the worldwide Christian Church celebrates Ash Wednesday. Many Christians will have the sign of the cross put on their foreheads while their pastor recites the words usually used at a burial, “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust you shall return.”

The ashes beg us never to lose sight of how temporal and how fleeting life really is. The writer of Psalm 90 says that human life is like grass that flourishes in the morning, but is dried and withered by evening. All in the span of one brief metaphorical day.

As we begin our observance of Lent on this Ash Wednesday, let us be mindful of our imminent mortality. Let us repent for being reckless, negligent, and sometimes ungrateful for this precious gift of life. And from this day forward, let us never take another day for granted.

Please pray with me the prayer for today: Heavenly Father, creator and sustainer of all things, seen and unseen, we humbly come before you acknowledging our weaknesses and rejoicing in your love and grace. We pray this in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. ​