YEHOVAH'S IMAGE STAMPED IN THE DUST

The words of Genesis 1 express a profound paradox: Though we’re as insignificant as dust, we reflect the glory of Yehovah Elohim – God Himself.

Adam’s name reflected the fact that God formed him from the adamah (ah-dah-MAH, “ground” in Hebrew). His task was to work the adamah, and when he died, he would return to the adamah. Adam was the consummate “earthling.”

And yet God blew the breath of life into Adam, setting humankind apart in a unique  and wonderful way.

Genesis 2:7: Yehovah formed man fromt eh dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living souil - being - person.

One eighteenth-century teacher put it this way: “A person should always carry two slips of paper, one in each pocket. On one it should be written ‘The world was created for my sake,’ and on the other it should say ‘I am but dust and ashes.’” On days when we feel discouraged and worthless, we should read the first one. On days when we’re consumed with pride and our own self-importance, we should read the other.

Often, we struggle about knowing our worth, and try to prove it through competition, pride, and tearing others down. Conversely, we might think that humility is about seeing ourselves as useless, untalented, and insignificant.

Yehovah’s idea of humility, however, is to realize that each one of us is precious in His sight. Perhaps we should write ourselves a third slip of paper: “All of humanity is precious to God and are all reflections of the image of Yehovah - God.”

Indeed, Abraham Heschel writes that seeing that each human being bears God’s image leads to the love of one’s neighbours, and even one’s enemies:

“We must never be oblivious of the equality of the dignity of all men. The image of God is reflected in the criminal as well as in the saint…The basic dignity of man is not made up of his achievements, virtues, or special talents. It is inherent in his very being as a reflection of the image of Yehovah:

Genesis 1:26: And Yehovah said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing on the ground.”