He has said of Me what is right

The most important of all Seventh-day Adventist beliefs is the one that brings joy and assurance to Christians everywhere—the truth about our Heavenly Father confirmed at such cost by the life and death of His Son.

We believe God is not the kind of person His enemies have made Him out to be - arbitrary, unforgiving, and severe. We accept the testimony of Jesus when He said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." God is just as loving and trustworthy as His Son, just as willing to forgive and heal. Though infinite in majesty and power, our Creator is an equally gracious Person who values nothing higher than the freedom, dignity, and individuality of His intelligent creatures - that their love, their faith, their willingness to listen and obey, may be freely given. This is the truth revealed through all the books of Scripture. This is the everlasting Good News that wins the trust and admiration of God's loyal children throughout the universe.

Like Abraham and Moses - the ones God spoke of as His trusted friends - we Adventists want to speak well and truly of our Heavenly Father. This is why we have built so many centers of healing around the world. This is why we talk so much about Christ's soon return and why we choose to keep the Sabbath on the seventh day. If friends and neighbors should wonder why, we would consider it a privilege to explain. We covet as the highest of all commendations the words of God about Job: "He has said of Me what is right."

A. Graham Maxwell © 1984 - Used with permission