Job 20:1-11 (NRSV)
Mortals fly away like a dream
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
"Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to answer,
because of the agitation within me.
I hear censure that insults me,
and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.
Do you not know this from of old,
ever since mortals were placed on earth,
that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?
Even though they mount up high as the heavens,
and their head reaches to the clouds,
they will perish forever like their own dung;
those who have seen them will say, 'Where are they?'
They will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
they will be chased away like a vision of the night.
The eye that saw them will see them no more,
nor will their place behold them any longer.
Their children will seek the favor of the poor,
and their hands will give back their wealth.
Their bodies, once full of youth,
will lie down in the dust with them.
DEVOTION
Once a year on Ash Wednesday, I place ashes upon the foreheads of my congregants and declare, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From the ash we came, to the dust we will return. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"
I love this saying every day of the year because it is a vivid reminder that as humans we possess mortal bodies that absolutely will return to the dust whether we like it or not!
As such, it is important to remember to attend to our immortal souls which will last forever.
I am so glad that Love gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life. I am so thankful that our God specializes in resurrecting us from the dead in power and victory! I am so thrilled that although my earthly body will decay, I have a blessed assurance that because I have put all of my hope in Jesus, I will live forever in the presence of God.
What a gift! What a treasure! What awesome good news!
As mortals--or dust of the earth--we are humbled. We are constantly aware that the greatest power in all of the universes is our GOD.
God made us. God sustains us. And God will safely deliver us to our eternal home.
Today, let us give thanks that we have so very much to look forward to both in this world, and in the world to come!
Let us pray: Awesome and Loving God, thank you for making and sustaining me. Thank you for attending to the salvation of my soul through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus! Please forgive me of my sin, and fill me with the Holy Spirit, so that I can share the good news that Jesus saves, and he saves to the utmost! I love you and I desire to share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
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