Dear Students,

I want you to know how pleased I am with what I have seen so far this year. Yesterday, you participated in several Bible activities in small groups—listing the books of the Bible, identifying Bible characters, and working through other areas of Bible knowledge. As I watched and listened to the groups, I was impressed by how much you knew and how readily you engaged with Scripture. You demonstrated a strong foundation of Bible knowledge, and that was encouraging to see.

But as important as it is to know the Bible, I want you to know the Savior of the Bible. Over the next several weeks, I would like to share some simple truths about salvation that have profoundly influenced my own understanding of the gospel. My hope is that these will help each of us understand more clearly what it means to come to Christ and live by faith in Him.

In 1893, Ellen White published a remarkable article simply titled “Salvation.” In it she addressed a mistake that many Christians still make: we think we must somehow get ourselves into the right spiritual condition before we can come to Jesus. We know we need to repent, so we try to make ourselves feel sorry enough. We know we need to change, so we try to become better. Then, when we have made some progress, we think we will be ready to come to Christ.

But Ellen White explains that even repentance is a gift from Jesus. She writes, “The very first step to Christ is taken through the drawing of the Spirit of God.” We don't begin the process of salvation and then ask Jesus to help us finish it. He begins it. Even the conviction that something is wrong in our lives and the desire to be different are evidence that He is already working in our hearts.

She illustrates this with the lost sheep. A lost sheep does not find its way back to the shepherd. The shepherd goes looking for the sheep. That is what Jesus is doing for us. Before we ever begin looking for Him, He is looking for us. Before we know how to repent, He is drawing us. Before we know how to change, He is offering us the grace that can change us.

Perhaps there is something in your life that you know needs to change. Don't wait until you feel worthy of Jesus. Don't wait until you think you have become good enough to come to Him. Come to Him now, just as you are. The very desire in your heart to come may be evidence that Jesus is already drawing you home.

Doug Baker

Heritage Academy Principal