You will, however, find that the wearing of ashes was an ancient symbol for sorrow over sin. You won’t find a single verse that mandates it. Is the use of ashes commanded by our God? No.
So the wearing of the ashes becomes a sign of repentance over sin. They also become a forceful reminder of the sin that grips us all, going back to Adam and Eve’s fall into sin.
On Ash Wednesday, the ashes are applied to a person’s forehead in a simple ceremony called “the imposition of ashes.” As the “imposer” (priest, pastor) applies the ashes, he says the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20) The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. I wondered what that was all about? I soon learned this was a practice primarily observed by Catholics on what some called “The Day of Ashes.” I have since learned that some Protestants, even Lutherans are joining in this practice. As a little boy, I remember seeing some folks, usually older, with a little cross on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday.
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