About one hundred years ago a famous British naturalist, Dr. Alfred Russell
Wallace, wrote a fascinating chapter in one of his books entitled “The
Importance of Dust.”
I don’t know about you, but I have never considered dust to be important.
Someone once said that dust was only ‘dirt in the wrong place’ and I would agree
with that. On a windy day, dust can be a considerable nuisance, getting in to
your eyes, nose and mouth. If you live in desert regions, dust storms can be a
serious problem. Melbourne, Australia often has trouble with thousands of tons
of dust descending on the city in hot northerly winds. I doubt if the housewife
has much to say in favour of dust.
But back to Dr. Wallace. To begin with he says that the beautiful colours in the
sky, the blue of the summer, the tints of sunset, are all due to the presence of
dust. He goes on to say that the beauty of the world is due to the ever changing
colour of the sky, and all that would vanish but for the dust. Dr. Wallace says
that without dust the sky would appear absolutely black and the stars would be
visible all day.
When you realise that these little particles of matter floating in the air are
responsible for blue sky, the flush of dawn, the crimson sunset and the colours
in the clouds, we have much to thank God for in putting ‘this dirt in the wrong
place’.
That is not all that dust does for us. Dr. Wallace says that it is because of
the dust we get mist and cloud and soft refreshing rain. Without it we would
have perpetual sunshine that would turn our land into a sandy desert, while the
hills and mountains would be devastated by raging torrents. This would render
life on earth impossible. It is the dust that saves us from being burnt up by
the sun or washed away by roaring floods.
When you wander through the house with the vacuum cleaner, would you have
thought that dust was so important?
But dust is not the only seemingly useless thing that God uses. He takes men and
women who seem so ordinary and untalented, and makes them play a part in life.
Jesus took his disciples, sinners, tax collectors, thieves - people who were
often despised and trampled on like dirt - and made them into noble men and
women and servants of God
The same God who made such good use of dust can make good use of us if we will
let him.
Have a good week.
Ron Clarke w4w@keypoint.com.au
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