Nothing is Ever Lost

(Geneses 18:27 KJV)  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which I am but dust and ashes:

Even though Abraham had the privilege of talking to God he never saw himself equal with God. When he referred to himself as “dust and ashes” it was because he knew his origin and the place that he would eventually return to. He was also well aware of the vast difference between Holy God and created man.

Even though Abraham and God were actually married through a blood covenant relationship he never showed any signs of being over familiar with God. Perhaps it was because of that marriage relationship that God said in Jeremiah 3:14 that He was “forever married to the backslider”, meaning Israel, even though Israel continued to dishonor Him.

It warms my heart to see the way Abraham referred to God in such a humble and modest manner. He knew that speaking to God was an honor that he did not deserve.

The part that Abraham said about being “dust and ashes” seemed to jump out at me more than anything else. While meditating on that part I came to the conclusion that nothing in the world is ever really lost.

A few days ago while ministering in the small West Texas community of Fort Hancock, Texas I had a simple yet impactful experience. As a result of that experience I began thinking more about the whole subject of “dust and ashes”.

Fort Hancock was originally named Camp Rice and was established back in the late 1800s by a group of ‘Buffalo Soldiers’. At that time in Texas history forts and camps were being established all along the Texas Mexico border to protect the settlers from the Mexican/Indian renegades.

The only thing that remains of most of the old forts and camps are just the memories of days gone by.

One of the elders of the church in Fort Hancock owns a large cotton farm that I enjoy driving through when I am in town. One Saturday morning the pastor of the church and I drove over to the elder’s farm and picked him up and began driving through his beautiful farm. As we drove along I mentioned the old fort and how I was intrigued by it and the farmer immediately said, “Stop the truck”. At that very moment we were actually driving over the site of the old fort.

When we got out of the truck my farmer friend began raking dirt to one side with his foot. He reached down and picked up what looked to be a piece of red rock that had been broken and handed it to me. Upon examining it I realized it was actually a piece of brick from the old fort. Over the years all the wood and logs from the old fort had rotted and all the brick had been ground into pieces.

The farmer told me that occasionally someone from El Paso will come out with a metal detector and fine things such as a coin, a button, a shell casing, a belt buckle and one time even a cannon ball.

As I looked at the piece of brick the farmer handed me I began thinking about our text and about being “dust and ashes”. I began to realize that nothing is ever really lost…it just returned to its original state. Abraham knew that and that is why he was never over familiar with God.

Father,

Even though You are our Heavenly Father and You have given us the privilege of boldly coming into Your presence we do not want to do that in a dishonoring way. Help us to be like Abraham and see ourselves as the created and not the creator.

Amen