BY SKIP BELL

OW CLEARLY DO WE ENVISION THE "cause" of Adventism?

Recently four twenty-something Adventists shared a Friday evening in our home. These were dedicated Christians, two working for Adventist institutions, and all obviously secure in relationships with Jesus. Three were graduates of Adventist colleges, and one was in the process. Wanting to discover their convictions on the cause of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I read the familiar parable from Matthew 25:31-46 describing the separation of the nations in judgment. Before reading, I'd commented on the context of the disciples' question regarding the end in Matthew 24:3. After we'd reflected a few moments on the parable and the words of Jesus, I asked, "How would you describe the cause of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Why are we here? What is our special and unique purpose?" Then I sat quietly, listening to their discussion, eagerly offered, for probably a half hour.

One began, "Since my father is an Adventist pastor, I understand what I should say about our cause. I have been in evangelistic meetings since my childhood, and I know the prophecies. I am supposed to say that we exist to prepare the world for Jesus' second coming. But somehow that isn't moving me. It just doesn't fulfill a sense of cause or purpose."

Another gestured with enthusiasm, and added with a smile in his voice, "I am clear on what our purpose is. I have thought about that quite a bit. It is simple. Be nice. That is our reason for being here. Be nice."

A third continued, "Well, I am not sure of what our unique purpose is. I would suppose it is to share the gospel. Sometimes friends question if we need the church. After my experience teaching teenagers, I am convinced that we do need some order, that we need the church as a community, and that we need to respect it."

Unsure, unmoved, be nice, we need some organization: each offered to explain our unique purpose, our cause. What is the cause of Adventism? We may feel uneasy with the question. Why should the Adventist movement, with its call to mission, be less than clear regarding its mission? Yet I have discovered that the vagueness of my younger friends is not unique to their generation.

Consider Joni's late uncle, Nate--an honest businessman, church leader, and kindly Christian man. As an academy student I worked at the industry he owned, and admired his consistent Christian example. Now he was visiting our home while attending an alumni reunion at his alma mater. We had just completed Sabbath dinner, and conversation flowed easily as we pushed back our chairs. Finding a brief moment between casually offered observations, Nate looked at no one in particular as he reflected without emotion, "I used to be certain Jesus was coming in my lifetime, but I am no longer sure."

Conversation stopped, and we waited his thoughts with interest. "As a child, we believed World War I was a sign of the end. I was convinced Jesus would return before I ever reached adulthood. Then I experienced the Depression and World War II. Things were getting worse. Surely it wouldn't be long, I felt, but still Jesus didn't return. Then came the sixties with all their social and political upheaval. Now I am an old man, and Jesus has not come. I find myself wondering what it all has been about." Nate was puzzled, disappointed, and weary.

Of course our humanity does not define our cause, nor is our experience the ground for interpreting Scripture. We may grow weary in waiting, we may lose focus, but that does not define revelation. Like Nate, when we consider the movement of time, our minds return to Jesus' words: "But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 10:22).* But is enduring until the end our cause?

So what is the cause of Adventism?
Our unique history has provided urgency for our movement, but it has also deflected our vision. Amid the fervor of the Advent awakening, the youthful people who passed through the disappointment of October 22, 1844, set out to inform the world of the soon coming of Christ. The Advent message had been in error regarding date setting, but the central theme was still present truth. Jesus had begun the judgment in the heavenly sanctuary, the Sabbath became a signal of obedience to His word, and Jesus was coming soon. The fledgling movement envisioned a worldwide missionary presence. Truth required defense. Time was short, urgency was woven into the fabric of our being, and the end-time was clearly our focus. Preparation for translation, the outcome for ourselves at the end of time, occupied and shaped our vision.

Reflecting again on the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25 provides a needed perspective. The disciples were concerned, as are we Adventist Christians, with the end. Jesus had spoken of the destruction of the Temple, so they came to Him asking: "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matt. 24:3). These were men with imperfect understanding regarding the mission of Jesus. They could not perceive the mission of the church. Instead, they wanted light regarding the end of time.

In mercy, Jesus mingled signs pertaining to the destruction of the Temple and the end of time. In the process He cautioned: "Take heed that no one deceives you" (verse 4). "All these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (verse 6). "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (verse 13). "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (verse 36). "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect" (verse 44). Jesus knew their generation would experience the destruction of the temple, and He exhorted them to see in numerous events of earth's history the promise of His return.
But He said so much more.

In His words, normally read in the account of Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus was announcing our cause to us. His message represents the call of the church to its ministry in the present age. He provides our vision and our mission. We approach His words with the disciples' question regarding the end in our minds, and consequently fail to hear His call. In His attached parables Jesus informs us that our purpose is not to worry about the end--it is to do His will now. You are the stewards of My household, He says. You are to be carrying out My Father's will as good stewards. "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?" (verse 45).

The faithful servant cared for the household because he loved the owner, not with a concerned eye for his return. Certainly he longed to see the master of the house again. He delighted in that thought and eagerly awaited his return; however, his vigilance for the household was not out of concern for his own interest, or fear of punishment should he fail his duties. He cared for the household as the master would have--out of love. The unfaithful servant, concerned for the reward of an approving master on his return, abused the household when the master was delayed.

The parables of the two servants, the 10 virgins, the talents, and the judgment of the nations, all integrated in Jesus' reply to the disciples' question regarding the end, have a common thread. It is stewardship of the Father's will in the present age that is determinative in judgment; caring for the household, being spiritually vital, applying gifts in ministry, caring for creation, and caring for all humanity in the presence of the least. Jesus diverts our attention from concern for the end to the mission of the church in the here and now. The same Jesus who wept over Jerusalem calls His followers to love and care for His creation, the earth and its inhabitants, in the present time. It is as He taught us to pray: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Jesus is overwhelmed by the truth that this is our Father's world, and He earnestly desires His followers to dedicate themselves to the will of the Father--to be guided by the Spirit in caring for the earth.

Is not this the mission of God's people in this age? "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Rev. 14:7). How are we to worship the Creator? How do we give glory to the Creator? "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (verse 12). How are we to be obedient to the will of God? How are we to keep faith?

The cause of Adventism is restoring the image of God in His creation in the here and now. The church is a transforming agency restoring life in God's image throughout His creation. It is our ministry to creation--and especially the crowning act, humanity--that is to occupy us. Preparation for the return of Christ has less to do with the time of His return than with the stewardship process of the earth, His creation, in the time we live among His creation. It is present truth.

Radical Christianity
Scripture proclaims this cause repeatedly. David links the Creator with the specific deeds that restore God's image in His creation. The Creator, "who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. . . . The Lord watches over the strangers; . . . relieves the fatherless and widow" (Ps. 146:6-9). The prophet Isaiah describes the anointing of the Messiah to "preach good tidings to the poor; . . . to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives" (Isa. 61:1). Jesus understood this to be His cause (Luke 4:18), and sends us into the world for the same ministry (John 17:18). The New Testament church proclaimed the Creator and stewardship of His world (Acts 3:1-8; 4:23, 24; and 14:15-17).

Rightly understood, our cause is wholly consistent with Christian philosophy and our Seventh-day Adventist heritage. Our cause defines our teaching. Creation is the center of theology. The cross is the redemptive act of the creator. Redemption invades all of life. The health message aligns with the restoration of creation's purpose. Lordship is grounded in authority over creation. The Sabbath suddenly has a purpose beyond blind obedience. The Second Coming is the return of the Lord of the house, our Father, whom we have missed! Our Creator returns to His work!

Allow me to emphasize the point. The cause of Adventism is restoring the image of God in His creation in the here and now. Our mission demands we integrate this cause within our life and witness. It is radical Christianity. He calls us to be His servants caring for His household today.

Our cause calls us to a visible and practical ministry. It is a call to Christian action; activism in the line of the following priorities. First, to deal justly. Equal treatment and generous respect for all peoples of the earth is the Spirit of Christ. Second, to lift people to their God-given dignity. Offering opportunity for education and freedom to all humanity exceeds national or political concerns. Third, to care for the poor. The distribution of earth's resources to all with the unconditional love of Jesus challenges Western materialism. Fourth, to heal wounds. Unmerited forgiveness and sacrifice for our enemies is radical Christian obedience. Fifth, to protect the environment. Loving the natural creation of the earth and preserving it calls for submission to the Creator. It suggests our economic concerns retreat to confidence that in the provision of creation God cares for humankind. Sixth, to celebrate the beauty of the earth. Resting in the Creator's provisions, finding relationship with our God through His work in creation, leads us to worship.

Our cause, as pronounced by Jesus, provides us a construct that gives our Savior meaning in the context of the world in which we live today. Jesus is the bridge between the earth we know and the earth made new, and He has called the church to the sacrifice of that ministry in this age. This is a cause that challenges us; a call big enough to humble us, to bring us to our knees, to call our young people. It underlines why we are.

Here's Where I Come Down
Please do not misunderstand me. I have grown in the hope of Jesus' coming. I cherish that hope. My eyes tear when I sing that great song that is surely the theme of our movement: "We Have This Hope." I long, as you do, for the return of Jesus.

But I also realize that we are God's hope, that He longs for us to serve His will; to restore His image in His creation in the here and now. He has given us His Word and His Spirit. He has given us this earth. Another song resonates in my soul: "This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres."

And suddenly I am alive. I am God's servant on this earth! To love and care for His creation. To treasure it. To delight in His beauty. To announce His Lordship, His cross, His Sabbath. To love His crowning work, my brothers and sisters in this creation, created in the image of Him who can restore beauty and dignity in every smile, touch, and caring act. Who can lift each person to the love and joy of their Creator. We are redeemed!

We have a glorious and thrilling cause: restoring the image of God in His creation in the here and now. "Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad."

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*Bible texts in this article are from the New King James Version.

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Skip Bell is associate professor of church leadership at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and director of the Doctor of Ministry program.