Dust being

Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ~ Genesis 2:7

Here's a fun fact. Nowhere in Genesis are we told that God gave his creature the name Adam. "Adam" only becomes a name for the man God created in chapter 4 of Genesis.

The name, Adam, in fact, is a generic term for human beings.

It is the being created from the 'humus' or the dirt.

God bringing a man from the dust in the ground is God bringing all of humanity from the dust of the ground.

Creating, making alive, human beings.

Calling us all. Not simply one man.

Adam isn't a name at first. It is an identification.

And what is it that identifies the human being?

I would say, based on this short little verse from the second creation story that it is the breath of God that resides in us.

We have been crafted lovingly and have God's own spirit - God's own breath - enlivening us.

So you are Adam. I am Adam. Human beings. All of us. ALL of us.

And we are God's.

ALL of us.

Holy One, help me to be reminded that all human beings bear your breath of life. Amen