Dirt

 

According to the Genesis 2 creation story,

God formed Adam from the dust of the Earth. 

That means, therefore, that humankind is nothing but dirt.

We come from dirt and we return to dirt.

We are all just dirt.

 

This could seem a bit demoralizing,

Thinking of ourselves as dirt.

But for me, it’s not demoralizing, rather it’s equalizing.

 

During the children’s message on Sunday, Pastor Ann asked the child to name some  famous people. 

He first said a YouTuber,

Then he said Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus.

Now, whether Jesus was dirt is up for debate 

Because he did not return to dirt.

But if we believe that Jesus was fully human, then maybe he was dirt as well.

Just like Youtubers,

And just like civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr..

 

And I don’t mean dirt as in scum of the Earth.

I don’t mean dirt as in trash.

I mean dirt as in the stuff of the Earth.

The substance from which God formed humankind.

 

If you are dirt and I am dirt, and millionaires are dirt and those struggling through poverty are dirt, and the famous are dirt and the ordinary are dirt, and those we despise are dirt and those we love are dirt, then we’re all just dirt.

 

We are all just human.

 

And we are all, somehow, loved by God.

 

I know. 

Some dirt balls make better decisions than others because some dirt balls seem to have a broken moral compass. 

Some dirt balls will impact this world for good while other dirt balls will leave their mark in a negative way.

But in the end, we all come from dirt and we all return to dirt.

 

And in that simple reality, today, 

I somehow find peace.