I am nothing but dust

This is Day 1 of my 40 Day Lenten blog.

I live my life as if the universe revolves around me--as if I have some importance. But I am nothing but dust and to dust I shall return. I am of no importance. I do not matter. I will be here today and gone tomorrow.

The Lord is eternal. He has always been and always will be. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. He is the hand that created all things and guides all things.

I celebrate my small, insignificant accomplishments as if they are universe shifting--as if I am glorious and powerful. But I am nothing but grass blowing in the wind. My accomplishments flower briefly before blowing away into the great beyond. My life will be gone just that quickly with little evidence that I even existed.

The Lord is glorious and powerful. By His voice He created the heavens and the earth, all of the stars, the galaxies, comets, black holes, and all living things. There is nothing beyond him. Nothing would be here without Him. All of creation evidences His majesty.

I celebrate my knowledge and education, believing that I have vast understanding and wisdom. But I know nothing. The amount of my wisdom is a trifle, my knowledge but a speck. My understanding of the mysteries and workings of the universe barely exceeds that of an ant.

The Lord is all-knowing. His wisdom stretches to eternity. He knows my thoughts and my heart better than I know them myself. He knows the past, the present, and the future. He spoke but a word and set off a chain reaction with such precision that every star, every bird, every leaf of every tree fell in the exact place at the exact time He wished it to. Nothing happens without His knowing it.

The Lord does not need me. The Lord exists without me and will continue to exist for eternity after I have passed away. I am nothing before Him. Yet, He uses me in His plan. He uses all of us. He loves the small and unimportant. He makes us important by His own will. He loves me as He loves all of His creation.

My mistake is thinking that I am important without Him--that I matter outside of His will for me to matter. I do not. I am nothing but dust and to dust I will return. And it is only by His grace that I will get to remain in eternity with Him.

This Lent I am seeking to humble my heart, to realize--to TRULY realize--that I am nothing and He is All. And to be grateful for all of the blessings, mercy, and grace that He has given me. I do not deserve it. I do not even deserve to exist. May God never let me forget that.

R.C. VanLandingham is the author of the Peter Puckett series, a Christian children's fantasy that explores what it means to know and love Christ through exciting adventures.His books and blog can be found at rcvanlandingham.com.