Genesis 3:19 - For dust you are and to dust you will return

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Commentary

Today is Ash Wednesday, and for those of us from liturgical traditions, this Scripture is used by the priest as ashes mixed with oil are formed in the sign of the cross on our foreheads. It is a reminder that for all of the glories that we achieve in this life there will come a day when dust reclaims us. We will stand before our Creator with none of our possessions; only our deeds will be with us. And before a holy and perfect God, whose deeds can stand? Ash Wednesday is a stark reminder that humanity is in need of a savior. A savior whose life can bear the scrutiny of the judgment day. Thus the sign of the cross; it is our only hope. But what a great hope it is! He died and rose from the dead and we will rise with him from our dust on that final day.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC

Genesis 3:4 - The serpent said, "You surely will not die"

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Commentary

Today marks a notorious holiday in the New Orleans area known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Traditionally, it is the last day to indulge-and often overindulge-before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting that come with Lent. Known for it's sexual decadence, drunkenness, and hedonism, the Mardi Gras festival is almost saying, "Oh no, we're about to take time to remind ourselves of the God who created us and redeemed us back to him! Quick, let's destroy our identities with sin." Like the Garden of Eden, we keep thinking that God's ways will hold us back - that if we take things into our own hands, we'll be like God, able to discern right from wrong. Mardi Gras stands as a monument of the hostility of our sinful nature to God.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC