The letter to the Romans will get to some heavy matters of faith. But before all that, Paul reminds us of something we should not lose sight of along the way.
He writes of his desire to see the church in Rome again, "so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. He is, of course, a spiritual giant to many people. But Paul also admits he needs the encouragement of others in his faith, too. Faith, for him, is not a solo climb but a shared strength.
This last Ash Wednesday, our family gathered around a table at our Airbnb. The day's activities kept us from attending a service at a local congregation. So, all of us sat side by side, marked with the same cross of ash I quickly made. No one had a spiritual advantage from the barbecue ashes we had earlier. We were dust together.
In the moment, I thought of the famous “pale blue dot” image, captured by NASA. From space, Earth is barely visible. It's a tiny speck blended into the darkness. Every empire, every argument, every achievement, every heartbreak, all in that little dot.
Ash Wednesday tells the truth of the blue dot: Remember you are dust. 
We are small. Our lives are brief. Our egos are oversized for what we actually are.
But Paul also says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God's saving power for everyone who believes.
On that tiny blue dot, God has acted. On this little planet, grace has broken in. The world may look insignificant in the cosmic distance, but heaven does not measure significance the way we do.
We are dust. But we are dust loved by God. We are small. But the gospel is not.
And together, mutually encouraged, we live by that faith.
Stay blessed...john | 
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