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By Shawn P. Nowlan, Esq

My great-grandparents met at a little Adventist school in Hemingford, Nebraska, in the early 1900s. Both my parents graduated from Platte Valley Academy and Union College. My mother taught at Boulder Junior Academy, where I myself was a student from grades 1-10. Today, I volunteer at Vista Ridge Academy. Adventist education is in my DNA.

Still, I often get the question—why spend money on Adventist education when there are so many good schools— and while we pay our tax dollars to support public education? What is it about Adventist education that makes it important?

I answer: Because Adventist education at its best feeds the whole human creature—the mind, the body, and the soul. And it prepares us for life and being a part of the larger society. I found a quote online from Ellen G. White’s Fundamentals of Christian Education. Chapter 9: “The fear of the Lord lies at the foundation of all true greatness. Integrity, unswerving integrity, is the principle that you need to carry with you into all the relations of life.” This is what I learned at my Adventists schools.

For me, that focus on academic excellence combined with personal integrity continued from Boulder Junior Academy through Campion Academy, and on to Union College. I had teachers and professors like Dorothy Simpson and Karl-Heinz Schroeder who both challenged my mind, and taught me what it means to bring God into how I handle everything in my life—not just on Sabbath but in everything I do.

And the sense that one should do one’s best intellectually while integrating God into what happens every workday continued when I left the bubble of Adventist education and began studying law at the University of Nebraska. At the university, I discovered the true value of the education I had received. I can’t say that I was 10 times better than my peers (see Daniel 1:20). I do know that I was in the top 10 percent of my law school class. This confirmed to me that what I had received in Adventist education made me able to compete with my peers who had gone to other schools. Moreover, I gained the confidence of seeing how my values—particularly integrity—instilled in the Adventist setting could survive contact with the larger world.

The sense of ethical integrity excellence guided me through clerking for judges and working as an attorney at the Nebraska legislature. I found all I had learned about Daniel and how he dealt with Nebuchadnezzar served me well when I found myself working for the government.

Today, integrity is what I want to help the current students of Vista Ridge Academy develop. When I watch and listen to Principal Sandy Hodgson, I see that same dual focus on both academic excellence and strong personal integrity that I experienced in my years at school. Recently, I talked to the mother of a new student at Vista Ridge Academy, who couldn’t stop talking about how different being in that environment was for her daughter—someone who had been struggling at another school, but was flourish- ing at Vista Ridge Academy.

At Vista Ridge Academy, we say that we inspire learning for life in a Christ-centered environment by promoting creativity, excellence, integrity, respect, and stewardship. In doing this, we are seeking to:

Create an environment where staff and students view God as the most wonderful Person in their lives and the joy of this relationship is openly shared on campus and  radiated to the community.
Establish a curriculum which addresses the needs of students so all can attain their potential.
Nurture interpersonal skills and emotional growth  among community, family, and peers.
Promote a community of parents and church constituents who work together for the greater good of the school and the success of its individual students.
Make the benefits of Seventh-day Adventist Christian education available to all who desire it while ensuring the financial integrity of the school and the proper maintenance of its facilities.

I see in what is happening at Vista Ridge Academy the same commitments that have shaped my life. This is why I value Adventist education—both because it shaped my life and because I can see it transforming the lives of the students who are currently experiencing it. This is a treasure well worth preserving.

Shawn P. Nowlan, Esq., is an attorney in Denver, lives in Boulder, and is board chairman of Vista Ridge Academy.

By Diane Harris

Looking back, I still remember a ninth grade English assignment where I was asked to write a two-page paper on Henry James. It was a good thing I had plenty of time for this assignment because it involved several trips to the library where I gathered a stack of biographies and encyclopedias and took notes on a stack of 4 x 6 note cards.

Afterward, the typewriter came out along with a supply of whiteout for all the mistakes that happen when young teen is learning how to type while completing a paper. I remember pulling each sheet of paper out of the typewriter ever so care- fully so that it wouldn’t get caught in the roller.

Fast forward to several years (or many) later to a scene that took place in my home. My daughter is doing home-work in our living room while simultaneously watching television. Normally, she’d use the dining room table to lay out her textbooks and work on her school-assigned computer. This time, she was in the living room. “How are you able to do homework and watch TV at the same time?” I asked. Her response? “This assignment is easy since Siri knows everything.”

Now I am not opposed to Siri as I use her often when I want to reach my destination or know how to dress for the weather; however her existence is a large reminder of how education has changed from the days of looking through a card catalogue to find books with answers to asking Siri for quick answers to geography questions. With Siri and Google at our fingertips, Rocky Mountain Conference teachers have had to reevaluate how they create lesson plans and what it takes to challenge our kids.

Two years ago, our education team had the privilege of conducting a teacher in-service to introduce a new concept: project-based learning. Teachers were divided into groups of 6-8 and asked to discover the mission, the vision, and the challenges faced by organizations around the city. They were to incorporate the four Cs of twenty-first century learning: critical thinking and innovation, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

The purpose of the assignment was to give our teachers the opportunity to work as a group to solve a problem and then to present their findings to the other groups. It took them outside their comfort zone and gave them an experience they could use in their own classrooms. During in- service events in previous years, teachers sat at long tables and listened to information shared from the front, passed out in nicely organized binders. No doubt most of that information was forgotten before the first day of school and the binders were nicely displayed—unused—in their offices.

The continual challenge for today’s teacher is to find creative ways to teach twenty-first century learners when many educators were taught using encyclopedias. Today’s preschooler will live in a very different working environment than today’s graduating seniors.

We challenge our teachers to Google job descriptions for the top companies in the country to see what skills they are looking for. It isn’t necessarily the ability to recall statistics, though knowledge is important, but the job skills most sought after are the abilities to collaborate and create. We encourage our teachers to practice failing, not so they feel like failures but so they can celebrate the effort along with their students. My son’s class had a motto last year that gave them permission to fail. It was, “If you are going to fail, fail gloriously!” In other words, accept that not every project will be successful, celebrate the effort, and try again.

I encourage you to check out any of our schools in the Rocky Mountain Conference to see what it looks like to incorporate twenty-first century education. You will discover projects at Campion Academy (CA) and Mile High Academy (MHA) where students are learning about globalization and incorporating the four Cs in amazing ways, along with one-room schools where students are learning how to code and where they also study issues in their communities and look for ways to solve them. They’re erecting greenhouses and building community gardens so that our children not only study healthy living, but also educate their neighborhoods. In the last semester in the current school year, my seventh grade son studied homelessness. During the study, he gathered supplies from local companies to donate to a shelter for women. The students at HMS Richards Elementary School have learned how to create a business and then created a pizza company, produced a commercial, and celebrated their work with a family meal. The first graders at MHA wrote a grant to obtain funds for a composter to support their class garden. Students at Lighthouse SDA Christian School in Fort Morgan, Colorado, can study anything they are curious about during “genius hour” and then look for solutions at their own pace.

The goal of the education department is for all of our students—from the youngest to the oldest—to learn how to solve problems and to be leaders. Using our CHERISH core values—a collection of Christian values that represent the way we treat each other in our schools—we prepare them for a world that is constantly changing, the one they will be living in as adults. We want all our students to thrive person- ally, professionally, and, most importantly, spiritually.

I often ask our teachers, “How do you know you had a successful lesson?” It’s a question I often ask myself. How will we know that our lessons have made a difference? I believe God continues to answer that question in each of our classrooms.

This is an exciting time in education, specifically in our Seventh-day Adventist schools as we educate twenty-first century learners to lead our churches, solve problems, and cast a CHERISH influence wherever they go.

Diane Harris is RMC associate superintendent of education.

By Mike Maldonado

Recently, I was reminded how crucial the ministry of deacons is in the local church. It was a particularly busy Sabbath day with baptisms, baby dedications, a fellowship meal, community service, plus all the responsibilities of running the worship service from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In addition, snow had fallen the day before so the sidewalks and parking lot had to be cleared.

Later that afternoon as I drove home, I was exhausted. I came to appreciate even more the fact that without the ministry of our deacons, I would never have been able to pull off the worship service and all the added activities that surround it.

All ministries in the local church are important and contribute to the overall health and effectiveness of the local church. Nonetheless, the ministry of deacons is one of the most crucial. Yet, it seems it is one that is often overlooked or not given much importance. Too often a deacon is seen as nothing more than one who takes up the offering and a deaconess is one who helps with the communion service. But there is and should be much more to this important ministry.

The term deacon and its various forms is found in the Bible. The concept simply means “servant” or “one who serves.” In its secular use, it means one who serves in a household. In Bible usage, it primarily means one who serves God, or more specifically one who serves God in the local church.

While the Bible does give some qualifications for those who serve as deacons, it does not provide a formal job description. It seems this is left up to the specific needs of the congregation. Acts 6:1-7, for instance, does not give much help in detailing a job description, and while like many others, I thought Acts 7 provided the genesis for the deacon ministry, the word “deacon” is not even mentioned in the passage! Nonetheless, for the deacon ministry to be vital to the life of the local church, three things must be understood. The deacon’s ministry helps with: 1) delegation of the work- load, 2) diversification of spiritual gifts, and 3) the spread of the gospel.

Delegation of the workload. From the passages in Acts 6 and Exodus 18, it is clear that no one person or ministry can do all the work. There simply is too much to be done. God’s work is all encompassing and any person or ministry that tries to go it alone will eventually fail, if not burn out altogether. In Acts 6, the disciples were feeling overwhelmed by the rapidly growing work. They felt like they were losing control of their focused mission. So they asked for help—servant volunteers, if you please. Also, Moses was trying to carry the burden of the entire work on his shoulders until his father-in-law offered some wise counsel. Jethro made it clear that what Moses was doing was foolish, would hinder the work and eventually destroy him. Thus, both the early apostles and Moses learned the hard lesson of needing to delegate. This is not easy for us to do, especially when we like to be in control of every aspect of God’s work. The ministry of deacons is specifically to give the minister much needed relief from the overwhelming, all-encompassing burden of ministry. Don’t be afraid to delegate work to your deacons!

Diversification of spiritual gifts. In Acts 6 and Exodus 18, the work is described as too broad for one person—not only in terms of physical limitations, but also in terms of skill set. The apostles were called and gifted for a specific task. Not having a diversified “staff” was hindering the effectiveness of their work. It became clear that other volunteers were needed with various skill sets to meet the demanding and expanding needs of ministry.

In Acts 6, the apostles would use their giftedness to preach and pray, while the new set of volunteers would handle the organizational issues arising. Thus deacons are called and gifted with a skill set to assist the pastor in carry- ing on the work of the local church and for Kingdom growth. A pastor needs a good team of deacons not only to help in the work load, but also because there are many in the church who can do things more efficiently and proficiently than the pastor! Spiritual gifts (skill sets) are widely distributed by the Holy Spirit as He sees fit.

The spread of the Gospel. From both stories we have been looking at it is clear that before delegation and diversification, the work was suffering. However once delegation took place based on skill sets, the work took off and prospered. The whole point of being more effective in using deacons in the local church is so the work can move forward and Kingdom growth can take place. The church is not just a well-oiled machine. It is a living, breathing spiritual body that champions the cause of God in a fallen world.

It is important to note that when a new class of servant volunteers was created there was no organized, structured church. Their job description did not include maintaining the building and taking up the offering. In fact, we see that in addition to handling some day to day management issues, they also preached the gospel, baptized and even were called upon to suffer martyrdom!

It is time the local church elevates the position of deacon to a higher level than it is today. I suggest including the lead deacon in the elder’s meeting. Include both groups in home visitation and taking communion to shut-ins. Maybe create an usher ministry to help with the offering and a maintenance ministry to help with the building, thus freeing up deacons to provide more hands-on spiritual care. In truth, every follower of Jesus Christ, a man and a woman alike, is called to be a deacon since we are all called to be servants of God for the betterment of humanity.

Mike Maldonado is pastor of the Colorado Springs Church.

By Ron Price

Perhaps the best-known text in the Bible is John 3:16. Even non-Bible readers have likely heard this verse, or at least seen it on a placard at a sports event. I believe the second best-known verse might well be “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” These words, attributed to our Lord Jesus, have long been interpreted as an instruction to His followers for how we are to live. I have no problem with this interpretation, but I want to give you another perspective to consider as well. My favorite professor once posed this question to our class: “Is ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’ a prophecy as much as a command?” He asked us to consider whether Christ’s followers would only be able to love their neighbor to the degree that they love themselves. Interesting question isn’t it? And, as they say, therein lies the rub, for I firmly believe that most of us do not love ourselves.

At church recently I asked a friend how he was doing. He gave me a somewhat common response of “better than I deserve.” Little did he know he just pushed one of my hot buttons. I asked him why, if he is a child of God, he did not deserve to “prosper and be in good health?” (3 John 2).

Now, I get what he meant—that he was grateful for all of God’s blessings and that in and of himself he is not worthy. And on that note we agree–none of us are. But is that the focus God wants for His children? Do we bring a smile to God’s heart when we grovel and tell Him how worthless we are? Would you enjoy hearing such talk from your children?

I believe God wants us to walk in our new identity as a child of the King, a joint heir with Christ of all that God wants for us. I believe we have every right to love ourselves, and see ourselves as righteous saints (His definition, not mine), and to accept the fact that God the Father loves us every bit as much as He loves His only begotten Son. We should see ourselves as He sees us—not as the world or the enemy would have us see ourselves.

We are not talking about a Muhammad Ali “I am the greatest” type of self-love. I don’t for one moment believe Christians should be boastful and self-aggrandizing—none of this is of our own doing lest any man should boast (see Eph. 2:9). When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we voluntarily give up our rights to pursue our own agenda. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ; therefore, I no longer live, and the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved me and gave His life for me.”

Paul also writes, under the influence of the Holy Spirit of course, that in our redeemed state “we are God’s master- piece” (Eph. 2:10, NLT). If we could truly get a handle on that concept we would be so much freer to love others and treat everyone with kindness, and respect. We would feel less need to defend ourselves from perceived attacks and to retaliate.

Can you imagine what life would be like if all of Christ’s followers truly loved their neighbors as they properly, and justifiably loved themselves? It wouldn’t take too long before we all got to go Home.

So let me leave you with a challenge—one I give myself, by the way. Each morning, before you get out of bed, thank God for choosing to give you a new day. Thank Him for the many blessings which you can readily identify and acknowledge, and the many more of which you are likely unaware. Accept His perception of who you are and invite Him to love through you all with whom you come in contact that day.

It also wouldn’t hurt to adopt as a theme song the southern gospel classic “Give the World a Smile Each Day.” Type those words into YouTube and you’ll be able to hear the song performed by numerous artists. If it fails to put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step, then we need to talk!

Just to get started, consider the lyrics of the first verse:

Are you giving to the world a smile (sunny smile) Helping lessen someone’s dreary mile (dreary mile) Do you greet the world with song as through life you pass along Cheering those you may meet along life’s way

As redeemed children of the King, we have every right to love ourselves and the great privilege to love others in the same way. I’ll close with the last words of the chorus:

Let your life so be that all the world may see the joy of serving Jesus with a Smile. Sounds good to me!

Ron Price is a member of the RMC executive committee from Farmington, New Mexico. His new book is Play Nice in Your Sandbox at Work.

By Carol Bolden

Golden Seventh-day Adventist Church member Dianna Shull opened Our Daily Bread Vegetarian Bakery and Deli on December 11, 2016, in Lakewood, Colorado, fulfilling a lifelong dream. “I’m exhausted,” Dianna exclaims, “but in a good way!” The excitement she feels at owning her own bakery and deli is evident in her voice.

As a small girl, Dianna began grinding her own wheat, baking bread and sharing the finished product with others. As an adult, she spent time as head cook at a self-supporting school in Laurelbrook, Tennessee, and again as head cook for Mount Etna’s blind camp in Hagerstown, Maryland.

“My training was in the school of hard knocks.” Dianna explains.

Knowing she wanted to open a bakery, Dianna’s son, a business owner himself, began looking for property and Dianna began praying that the Lord would make it possible if His desire was for her to run a bakery—but it had to be His doing.

Then her son found their current property and wanted her to have a look. The place had to be gutted, but her son took care of everything, bringing in people to do the remodel. When it came time to equip the place, she prayed again, asking for good prices. They looked at used equipment, but didn’t find the specialty items they needed.

After checking with three establishments selling used equipment, they found nothing. By the time they reached home, however, a man at one of those places had left a voicemail saying, “You’re not going to believe this, but . . .”

All the equipment they were looking for—big grinder, big oven, big mixer, slicer, etc.—had appeared on the Internet while he was looking. And all for a total cost of $15,000. The drive to Montrose for such a good deal was not a problem.

Each day so far, the bakery has seen 30-40 customers and the numbers continue to increase. Situated near the federal building where many state employees work and next door to Lakewood High School, the potential clientele seems boundless.

One student who visited this week told Dianna that he belonged to a vegan club. He took a photo of the sign out front and posted it to his Facebook page. Then another vegan club member took a photo of the soup she ordered and posted it to her Facebook page. Dianna doesn’t com- plain about the free advertising.

“This is God’s ministry, not mine,” declares Dianna. “Do I need to make money? Yes, but the important part is the ministry. Since the health message is the right arm of the gospel, we’re trying to get the message out.”

“I’ve always been interested in nutrition,” she explains, and “I’ll eventually offer classes in bread baking and easy, healthful meals.” She plans to bring in speakers, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who will talk about heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes.

Dianna’s only helper quit soon after they opened, so she’s extremely busy keeping up with all the demands. Yet, her family, friends and church members continue to support her, offering to do bookkeeping, cleaning, working the cash register—all free of charge. “I’m blessed with a wonderful support system!” she exclaims.

Our Daily Bread is open Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Carol Bolden is RMC administrative assistant for communication.

By Rajmund Dabrowski

Settling in a new city, we were fortunate to discover that church shopping would not be too difficult. Several congregations beckoned with their own expressions of being exemplary, God-fearing, and showcasing their peculiarities in being a congregation of “truly happy people.” One even considered enticing us with the seemingly persuasive argument of being the “Adventist elite of the area.”

The one church we decided to settle at offered nothing of the kind. No one knew we were coming. No one welcomed us at the door, no greeter recognized a couple of strangers coming in and later walking out. The worship was consider- ably challenging and far from the “high church” style we grew up in and enjoyed over decades of church membership.

However, we kept coming back. At first we sat quietly, but slowly introduced ourselves to those around us. We used to worship in large congregations, many of whom had mini congregations within them. This one was not small, at first glance. We were “strangers in a strange land,” speaking with foreign accents, presenting a challenge to those who were already in the “club.”

We knew that being authentic, speaking freely and without apprehension, sharing in the same faith and hope, we would contribute to making diversity a bit more relevant and expressive of what Christianity required us to be—a culture of brothers and sisters with infectious joy and free hugs!

A secular media story about an Adventist church in Jamaica demonstrates my belief that all Adventist congregations can be much more than we make them out to be.

As a journalist, Piotr Krasko knows a good story when he sees one. His honeymoon in Jamaica provided an encounter with our church and he shared his story in his TV newscast. His description betrays an obvious appreciation of Catholic nomenclature. However, the story paints a vignette of a faith community we might be familiar with, and perhaps a welcome presence in today’s not so positive media coverage!

“One of the most memorable experiences for me in Jamaica was participating in a mass [sic.] in an Adventist church,” he recalls.

“I told the hotel driver to pick me up in an hour, when the worship would end, and he responded that he wouldn’t know when the mass would end. It could last one, two or even five hours . . .

“The minister’s homily lasted 50 minutes, three minutes of which dealt with the moral side of things. The 47 remain- ing minutes were for greeting the believers. The pastor was happy that Mrs. Watkinson had already returned after visit- ing relatives in Los Angeles. Mr. Watson has a pair of brand new dentures and he looks great in them, and Mrs. Simpson bought herself a new hat which suits her well. The identified people would then stand up, bow and be applauded by the congregants. The visiting tourists were greeted with joy.

“One got the impression that everyone here belonged to one big family. No one had a sad look on their face when they greeted one another. . . . They greeted each other warmly and joyfully.

“There I saw a group of a truly happy people, full of fire and fantasy. . . . Regrettably, I was with them only for an hour and a half because the driver was waiting for me.

“The mass continued for another three hours,” Krasko concluded.

Was this truly a report about one of our churches? I wondered. Could such a reality, observed by a stranger who just wandered in, be replicated in any church congregation, anywhere?

But if that were to be so, we wouldn’t be surprised by such a media report.

Actually, each one of us is a member of what can become the happiest congregation around.

Rajmund Dabrowski is RMC communication director and editor of Mountain Views.

By George Crumley

The day finally arrived that I had looked forward to for quite some time—the day I would be driving behind the wheel of our Chevy Monza without a parent. The anticipation was exhilarating as my dad and I went down to the license bureau in Seattle, Washington. After passing the examinations, exploration took on a new meaning as I dropped dad off at work and hit the open road. This rite of passage made me feel grown up, trusted, and thankful to my parents for providing a resource I never could have generated for myself at that age.

As a young man who pretty much enjoyed its exclusive use while going to school, I saw this small car as sporty and I was proud to drive it around. I am sure that some people even thought that it was my car as I commuted to school each day. But the truth was that it was my father’s car and I only drove it because of his graciousness.

There was no doubt that the gift came with crystal-clear instructions on how to take care of it: I was not to accelerate quickly for safety and maximum gas mileage; I was to park in the back of the parking lot to avoid door dings; I was not to eat in the car; etc.

But as time passed, my memory faded regarding my father’s wishes for the care of his car and I started taking off fast to get to class on time, parking as close as possible to the building so I wouldn’t get wet in the rain, and eating a quick sandwich in the car while driving to work—all actions contrary to his desires. Imperceptibly, as I thought of my own needs to be on time, to avoid getting wet and cold, to satisfy my hunger, I lost sight of my father’s wishes. It was then that he would remind me of his instructions by removing the use of the car for a period of time.

I could have presented my “reasons” for what I did, and said that if he loved me, he would want those same outcomes for me—to be on time, to be warm, and to avoid hunger. But the reasons didn’t matter, because I could have honored his wishes above my own convenience by leaving the house earlier, carrying an umbrella to protect me from the cold rain, and arranging for another time to eat.

God also has given us clear instructions on how to care for all that He has given us. As we consciously choose to do things His way, it changes our focus from “What advantage will I get out of this?” to “How does God want me to care for His gifts?” Family budgets begin to look different, we treat the people in our lives better, Sabbath hours spent with Him are filled with encouragement and inspiration, our time becomes more profitable, our weaknesses become stronger, our jobs develop a higher purpose beyond the paycheck, healthful choices increase our endurance, etc.

It is following God’s loving instructions regarding all that He has entrusted to us that will lead us to experience the higher life of more satisfaction and greater happiness. Ultimately, it is through the intentional stewardship of all that He has placed in our hands that our lives are changed for the better.

George Crumley is RMC vice president for finance.

By Wayne Morrison

Growing up Adventist has taught me to speak and understand certain words and phrases that are very much a part of our Seventh-day Adventist culture. We have a way of talking that confuses people new to the conversation. When we invite a guest to a “haystack potluck,” they are pretty sure they understand “potluck” but wonder if they need to bring their own pitchfork. Another term we use pretty freely is “the truth.” We are called to share “the truth” with our neighbors, our co-workers, and our community. Adventists understand “the truth” to be those unique beliefs we hold: the truth about the Sabbath, the state of the dead, or that hell really is not eternal. We like to share the truth about the beasts and the mark, but there is another truth that Jesus taught, and I would like to draw your attention there.

I believe one of the stories most revealing of God’s heart toward sinners comes from John 8 which tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. This is a story that exposes the church and its attitude toward sinners by displaying God’s heart and His attitude toward sinners.

Jesus comes to the temple early in the morning, and all the people gather around to see and hear what He will do or say. The teaching is disrupted when the scribes and Pharisees bring in a woman and throw her at Jesus’ feet. The question is simple: “We know she is guilty; what are you going to do about it?”

Notice that in this story, we have the Pharisees, best representing the church at that time, condemning the guilty. They point out sin, dragging the condemned to God and shaming them in front of everyone. While we probably don’t drag prostitutes into church on a regular basis, I have been in church and listened to prayer requests that were just as exposing. We should pray for Brother X; you know he has a drinking problem. In our desire to pray for a brother, we expose his sin for all to hear.

While the Pharisees, are pointing their fingers at this woman, please notice two things God does. First, he reveals to each their own sins. Not publicly, yet each one knows that He knows, and they begin to shrink away, hoping no one finds out their weakness. Jesus then turns to the woman with a question, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” When she realizes they are all gone, she responds, “No one, Lord.”

I believe this moment contains one of the most important lessons for our church today. Jesus speaks, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” We like to emphasize the “go and sin no more,” but I believe God would focus on the removal of condemnation.

Jesus removes those that would condemn, then He expresses the merciful, forgiving heart of heaven: “Neither do I condemn you!” It would be a powerful moment if it ended there, but it doesn’t. Jesus continues, saying, “I am the Light of the world.” Is it possible that the light and the truth that Jesus came to share is the removal of condemnation? In a world filled with sin and darkness, overwhelmed with shame and disgrace, is it possible God sent His Son to remove condemnation?

Rather than asking a question, let me state this as a fact of conviction: Not only do I believe He came to remove condemnation, but He calls us to follow His example. He calls us not to point to the faults and failures we all have, but to point to the One who bridged the gap once for all. “He who knew no sin, became sin for us!”

Wayne Morrison is senior pastor at Brighton Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brighton, Colorado.