Image and Dust

Our defining narrative says that we’re made “in the image of God,”[i] but also: we’re made “from the dust.”[ii]

Image and dust.

To be made in the image of God means that we’re rife with potential. We have the Divine’s capacity in our DNA. We’re like God. We were created to “image” his behavior, to rule like he does, to gather up the raw materials of our planet and reshape them into a world for human beings to flourish and thrive.

But that’s only half the story.

We’re also made from the dirt, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”: we’re the original biodegradable containers.…