DUST TO DUST

A couple of days ago, in the Blog titled Ashes To Ashes, I wrote about the widely practiced custom of priests and pastors administering Ash Wednesday ashes by dipping their thumb into ashes and making a cross on the forehead of attendees at Ash Wednesday services. Saying "Ashes to ashes" is very different from saying "Dust to dust." When a priest says to you "Ashes to ashes" he is indicating that he believes your soul is mortal. When he says to you "Dust to dust" he is indicating that he believes your body is mortal.

While under ordinary circumstances humans are mortal, if they have received the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, they will become clothed with immortality. Thus, a more appropriate phrase would be "Dust and ashes to immortality." If you know that you have received the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, and you can see the light of his presence in your solar plexus, then God's promise of immortality should be your focus. You should avoid hearing, receiving, or acknowledging anything that contradicts the Scriptures. You also should speak out against any doctrinal issues you encounter that contradict the Scriptural commands.