Word FILLED Wednesday: Dust Covered?

I heard something a few weeks back...and wanted to share it. I saw this picture...and knew it was another opportunity to completely confuse you...er, I mean to share something super neat!

I'm learning so much in the book of John...can't believe I'm only on chapter four this week. Way back in chapter one, we were studying the story of Jesus as he started to call his disciples. We noticed how John the Baptist pointed him out to his own disciples...and they saw the "lamb of God" and followed him. We saw how Jesus knew their hearts and asked them,"What do you want?"...when they expressed interest in him and where he was staying...he invited them to "follow him and come and see."

They called him rabbi. So, it was mentioned to me how the disciples of a rabbi would follow him about....from place to place and a literal cloud of dust would be kicked up. There were some interesting things said about this in the Mishnah, a collection of rabbinic thoughts on the law. One from the Sages of the Mishnah is summarized,

"May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi."

MISHNAH 4. Yose b. Yo'ezer (a man) of
Zeredah, and Yose b. Yohanan [a man] of
Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from
them. Yose. b. Yo'ezer used to say: “Let your
house be a house of meeting for the sages
cover yourself with the dust of their feet, and
drink in their words with thirst.”

This encouraged the disciple to not just physically follow their rabbi but to really study the man...to accept his way of teaching the law...to emulate his mannerisms in dealing with God and people.

I am so challenged to consider whether I'm truly covered in the dust of my Rabbi... Jesus, the Christ! Do I study Him and His Word? Am I a good student? Do I copy His way of dealing with people (with children)? Do I give Him the respect He deserves? So, I'll pray for you...

"May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi."