LORD, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow. — Psalm 144:3-4
The idea that we are merely dust in the wind does have its roots in the Bible, and most obviously in Psalm 144. What are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.” But if that is truly the case—that we are nothing but a fleeting shadow or dust in the wind—then what is the value of our lives?
Adam was made from the dust of the earth. Adam was made in the image of God and was created with the capacity to be like God. Adam, and all human beings, get to determine the meaning of their name. We can represent nothing more than the dust of the earth, or we can be a manifestation of eternal godliness. The choice is ours. However, we can choose to become more. On our own, we are nothing, dust in the wind, but when we choose God, we are infinitely more.
