For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. Psalm 103:14
A little boy, obviously remembering his Sunday School lesson about creation, asked his mother if it is true that we come from dust. Yes, his mother assured him, the Bible tells us Adam was made of the dust of the ground. And is it true, the little boy wondered, that we are going to return to dust? Oh, yes, his mother declared, we are all going to return to dust. Then, the little boy declared, somebody is either coming or going under my bed! The story strikes us funny because we know that it’s not as simple as that. But we need to keep in mind that the creation, specifically the creation of mankind, is just as simple as the truth of Scripture that God made our first father from the dust of the earth. Even Christians tend to forget the simple truth of that sometimes.
A Christian recently asked me if I believed that there is intelligent life on other planets. I am afraid I gave a rather non-commital answer. After all, there are vast numbers of stars, galaxies, and other heavenly bodies out in space. Based on the known number – which is probably woefully inadequate – there are more than two billion stars for every person currently living on earth. Such a vast number causes some people to speculate that some of those stars must have planets on which intelligent life forms could possibly exist. But if we think about it, we must realize that we are assuming that those life forms would have evolved on those planets, a process requiring billions of years. Yet Genesis 1 tells us plainly that God created the stars on the fourth day of creation. If we accept creation for the earth, we must also accept creation for the stars. Our imagining life on other planets is a subtle acceptance of the lie of evolution. And we should be ashamed of that.
Even a non-technical examination of the human body reveals that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The wonders of the intricate design that God has given us never cease to amaze those who study how we are assembled. The study also reveals that the elements that make up the human body are identical with the elements in common dust. Our creator has assembled those elements in an amazing way, and we are proof of His genius and perfect design. It should humble us today to understand that we are nothing but dust that our Creator has touched.
God never intended that we should be filled with pride. And a right understanding of what we are made of will keep us humble and keep us thankful to Him. -Jim MacIntosh