When I was young, we lived for a short period in Louisiana. We loved it because there

 were several kids in the neighborhood to play with and lots of beautiful orange clay to

throw around, roll and dig in. This clay would always wind up embedded in our clothes

and my mother had a time trying to get it out. I’m thinking that after a while, she just

gave up.

Besides dirt’s appeal to children, I think it’s interesting that in the Bible, God “played”

in or utilized dirt, too. The first instance is in Genesis 2. It reveals that God reached down

into the dirt and formed man. Why dirt? Perhaps it’s because God knew the part dirt

would play in the destiny of mankind once death entered the world. Could God have used

this symbol of death specifically to produce life? Only God knows.

  Jesus also played in the dirt in John 8. He was teaching a crowd of people and the

religious leaders of the day tried to trap him into contradicting (in their eyes) the law of

Moses. They shove an adulteress woman before him and ask if she should be stoned as

per Moses’ law. Jesus reaches down to the dirt and writes in it. Perhaps he does this to

illustrate that he knows the base instincts of mankind. Maybe it was because Life wrote of

redemption and forgiveness instead of the death we all deserve.

  The interaction between our creator and dirt is interesting. I don’t know if my

suppositions are even slightly accurate, but it’s worth considering.