Hey there,
In our youth and college class we’ve been talking about this idea of “staying dusty.” It comes from an old picture of what it meant to follow a rabbi. A real disciple didn’t just show up for the teaching and then go home. He walked right behind his teacher on those dusty roads between towns. There was even a saying: “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.” The point was simple—follow so closely that the dust his sandals kicked up landed on you. You carried the evidence of his steps. His way of living started rubbing off on yours.
That’s the kind of closeness Jesus still calls us to. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Not from a comfortable distance. Follow.
Here’s a modern way to picture it. Imagine a field covered with freshly fallen snow. Off to one side you notice two figures stepping into it—maybe a father and his son. The dad walks across without much concern for the path, just heading where he’s going. But the son follows right behind him, carefully placing his feet in the exact spots his dad already stepped. After they cross and leave the field, there’s only one set of tracks left behind. Two people walked it, but the son’s steps are hidden inside his father’s.
That’s what staying dusty looks like today. In our daily walk, especially when suffering or hard times come, we ought to follow Christ’s example so closely that someone looking at the “snow” of our lives would see His tracks, not a separate set of our own. Peter said it this way: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). The word for “example” is like a pattern a student traces over to learn how to write. Jesus left us the lines, and we place our lives over them, step by step.
Staying dusty today doesn’t look like walking dirt roads, but the closeness is the same. It means opening Scripture when a decision is hard and asking what Jesus would do, then doing that even when it costs something. It means choosing the soft answer instead of the sharp one (Proverbs 15:1), even when you have the better argument. It means forgiving when it would feel better to hold the grudge, because He forgave us first. It means trusting the Father when the path is painful, the way Jesus did when He was suffering.
Our youth class isn’t just studying this idea; they’re living it out together. Being around other people who are trying to stay dusty helps. When one of us starts to hang back, the rest can notice and gently pull us closer again. That’s part of how the body of Christ works—we help each other stay near enough to Jesus that His dust covers us.
Of course, staying dusty can get messy. Following closely sometimes means getting dirty in ways the world doesn’t expect. You might be misunderstood for choosing peace over winning. You might give up something comfortable because Jesus said the greatest is the servant. You might walk through suffering without lashing out, because that’s the path He left for us. The good news is we don’t have to invent the path. He’s already walked it, and He invites us to place our feet where His were.
So, here’s the question the snow field leaves us with: If someone watched the tracks of your life this week, would they see one set—His—or two?
The invitation is simple and challenging at the same time: stay dusty. Follow so closely that His life becomes the one people see in yours.
Have a blessed week!
~ Charlie
