Thought for the Month - February 2015

"We are but dust…" by Barry Adair

'Dust' is exactly what I was thinking about these last few days and I wanted to share my brief thoughts with you here. So why dust? A couple of reasons really but it was mainly due to this Bible verse…

For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust. (Psalms 103:14)

I was off sick with one of these chest infections I seem to be prone to now. And in times of sickness you are certainly aware of your limitations. The verse was a comfort to me and I hope and pray that it is to you too and especially to those who suffer and struggle every single day of their lives.

Although daytime TV is woeful, I did manage to catch a couple of episodes of a series called "Wonders of the Universe". I was reminded that dust is actually very remarkable, chemically speaking. Dust contains up to 92 naturally occurring chemical elements. You may remember being taught The Periodic Table in school? Anyway, these same 92 elements are available throughout the whole Universe. And astronomers now think that while our own galaxy (the Milky Way) contains 100 billion stars (of which our Sun is one), there are probably 100 billion other galaxies. Mind-boggling indeed! And yet, still those same 92 chemical elements. Everything, including you and me, is made from exactly the same stuff.

I also discovered that these 92 elements were constructed by fusing smaller elements together. But for this to happen, literally, a star had to die. The vast temperatures and pressures required to do the fusing are only to be found when a massive star explodes at the end of its life. Truly, the design involved is breath-taking and yet the "Wonders of the Universe" programme made no mention of the wonderful Designer behind it all!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1)

I used to think that as we were made from 'plain old dust' and returned to dust that we were of no real consequence in the grand scheme of things.

All came from the dust and all return to the dust. (Ecc 3:20)

But far from it! Dust is very special and if we are made of dust then we are special too. Not only that, but just as a star had to die to produce the dust in the first place, a Star died for us too. Jesus Christ, "the bright morning star" (Rev 22:16) underwent a horrible, sacrificial death(*) on a Roman cross. Not only that, He knows our frame, our weaknesses, our pain, our deep concerns, our fears.

• Jesus loves us
• Jesus died for us
• Jesus arose and will be with us in eternity

Jesus Christ is the Creator, Saviour and Sustainer of the Universe. And if you are reading this and as yet don't know Him, then please read the link at the bottom of this page.

Come see His hands and His feet
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hand that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered

This is our God, The servant King
He calls us now, to follow Him
To bring our lives, as a daily offering
Of worship to, the servant King

                                  (Graham Kendrick)

Dust you may be - but the God who created this Universe wants to know you!

Until next month (dv)…

(*) An atoning death which is sufficient to pay for all our sins if we humbly accept our need of a Saviour.

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!