A God Worthy of Praise

Mike Slaughter, in the book Renegade Gospel, writes:

Do you remember the periodic tables of elements from high school chemistry class?  Everything your body is made of can be found on that chart.  What a humbling thought.  All the chemical elements that comprise my physical body, can in essence, be found in the dirt.  This is what i means when your forehead is marked with the burnt ashes from the prior year's Palm Sunday palms.  It's an important reminder of the fragile and transient nature of our time on earth.  As God told Adam in the garden, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return"  (Genesis 3:19)

In our office, we often marvel (with disbelief) at the fast passage of time.  At the beginning of January, we'll talk about how quickly Annual Conference will arrive (in June), and once we are past that, how quickly Christmas will arrive - and another year is finished.  Time does pass quickly, and our lives are fragile.  This is an important reminder to us.

As I read this passage today, I did consider the fragility of life and the passage of time, but I was also reminder of what a majestic and powerful God we have.  We are literally creatures of dust, formed by a marvelous creator - a creator who can take carbon and water and many other elements and create a person - a breathing, walking, thinking, creating person.  Isn't God worthy of praise!?!