“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”
Genesis 2:7
Your answer to the question, “Who likes dust?” will probably be, “Not I.” But dust does have many good things about it, helping us realize that nothing of God’s creation has been put in the world without His best purposes for us.
You may know that dust is always around you, even if you do not see it. A man usually waits for clear weather to wash his car. When he is finished, he is pleased to see how nice the car looks. But even if it is parked in a closed garage for two or three days, he will discover that dust has again settled on it.
His wife may have dusted the house and gotten everything bright and clean. But in a few days she has to do it all over again, even though the doors and windows have been closed most of the time.
The dust experienced by this man and his wife may not be visible in the air unless a strong wind is blowing. However, where a bright shaft of sunlight comes through a window, dust particles can be seen whirling and dancing in the sunlight. Yes, dust is always there, day and night.
What benefits does dust give us? A great many. For example, the beauty of the sky is visible only because of dust in the air. It is only because of sunlight shining through dusty air that the sky appears blue and those beautiful sunsets show up.
Without dust there would be no rain, for every drop is formed around a tiny speck of dust before it can leave the cloud. The same is true of every snowflake and piece of hail. Without dust particles we would perhaps just experience huge deluges of water instead of gentle rains. Also, the brilliant flash of a shooting star entering the earth’s atmosphere is at its brightest when encountering dust particles.
Let’s consider the beginning Bible verse that tells of the relationship of man to dust. It does not mean that God made man into an existing statue of dusty dirt, but that He formed him out of the “dust” or soil. After Adam sinned he was then told, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19).
This explains what, in time, becomes of our bodies after death. But something else also happens with those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. The Bible tells us their spirits go immediately to heaven and someday, very soon, will be united with changed bodies that will never die.
Will that be true of you? The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). If you have not yet accepted Him as your Saviour, will you do that right now?
ML-05/21/2006