But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

I once heard a hardened skeptic declare that if God was real, He would part the clouds and announce Himself – by which he meant that he wouldn’t believe in God until God had proven Himself beyond all shadow of doubt. And to be perfectly honest, sometimes I catch myself in a similar train of thought. I mean, it would be so much easier if God would just squash all the questions and remove all cause for disbelief, right? And then we wouldn’t have to exercise faith.

But you know, after I had a couple of kids, I started to see why God might not want to do that. Try to imagine what life would be like if your kids never made a move – if your kids never displayed any affection – unless you first proved yourself each and every time. “Dad, I’ll give you a hug if you PROVE you love me. Dad, I’ll listen to your advice if you can absolutely document – on paper – how you arrived at these conclusions.”

What kind of relationship would that be? You see, God isn’t merely looking for intellectual acknowledgement of His existence. He doesn’t call Himself professor – He calls Himself Father, and what He wants is a voluntary relationship. Like any other father, He wants to know that you want to be in a relationship with Him.

And so He doesn’t dot all the “i”s or cross all the “t”s. He always leaves at least a little room so you can make a decision. He always woos us, but never forces us. And of course, He gives us enough evidence that finding Him isn’t really a problem. But that evidence is like a diving board over the pool. You get to stand on it, and climb out to the edge, and test its strength – but at some point, you’re going to have to jump.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve seen skeptics squirm as the evidence for God begins to mount, and they go running for a spiritual escape hatch, wanting more and more evidence. But the fact that they’re squirming is evidence enough. They don’t squirm when it comes to Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, because they’re absolutely sure that those things don’t really exist. There’s absolutely NO evidence for them. But with God, they start to get a little uncomfortable, and conviction starts to build. Sometimes they react with anger or disdain, but it’s all the more proof that God is real and He’s speaking to their hearts.

And all it takes to put a smile on the face of God at that point is to take the leap of faith and go with what you DO know. After that point, as you leap into His arms, He starts to show you more – and He also gives you a better way to live.

The history of Christ’s church is still being written. Over the centuries God has led men and women of faith to dare and do great things for God.

For 150 years the Seventh-day Adventist Church has existed to carry on the tradition of practicing and communicating the truth as it is in Jesus.

This commemorative poster, The Christ of the Narrow Way, dramatically assists us in reviewing some of the outstanding events and individuals that have shaped the Adventist Church so far. It also challenges us to live up to
our destiny by focusing our attention on Jesus and following Him along the narrow path that leads to His kingdom.

This poster, suitable for framing, can be removed from this issue of the Adventist Review by carefully cutting along the dotted line.

The Christ of the Narrow Way — Elfred Lee, artist. This floor-to-ceiling mural, based on Ellen White’s first vision, extends the entire length of a 30-foot wall in the world headquarters building of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, Maryland. It was commissioned by the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., copyright 1991.

Tiberius Cesar

When Augustus Caesar died, he had intended to leave the empire to one of his other sons – but Marcus Marcellus, his first choice, had already died. The next in line was a man by the name of Tiberius, and I’m guessing you recognize his name, because he’s mentioned when Luke records the baptism of Jesus. Luke chapter three says that Jesus was baptized during the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar.

Augustus would have preferred one of his other sons, because Tiberius was a man of questionable character. He was a stepson to the emperor, and while he was certainly considered to be a man of considerable military ability, he was, in the emperor’s mind, not really fit to rule the empire. With the help of his mother, Livia, he was able to finagle his way into the emperor’s chair, becoming the second Emperor of Rome.

Just as the Bible predicted, he took the kingdom by flatteries, not by natural succession. And, if the historical records are anywhere close to accurate, the Roman people came to hate their new emperor with a passion. In fact, when he finally died in AD 37, the Roman historian Tacitus records that the crowds started to party, greatly relieved that they would no longer be living under the reign of such a vile man.

As the crowd was rejoicing, however, they received word that the emperor had revived, and they quickly fell silent as they contemplated the possibility that they would have to put up with Tiberius for the foreseeable future. But the party started up again when they heard that someone had taken care of the problem by smothering the emperor. Now, some historians will tell you that the story of the smothering is a bit of a legend, but it does prove one point beyond all question: the Romans hated Tiberius Caesar.

In fact – and pay attention to this detail carefully – the crowd demanded that his body be simply dumped in the river instead of being given the honor of cremation and burial like his predecessor Augustus. The Roman Senate likewise refused to vote Tiberius divine honors – just the way the Bible predicted. Tiberius was the man “to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom,” the angel told Daniel.

And of course, the prophecies also tell us who WILL receive the ultimate honor of the kingdom. After the judgment hour is finished, the Son of man receives a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and we will have seen the absolute last of the likes of Tiberius Caesar. I like to think of Tiberius as a symbol for Satan himself, in fact, a ruler who has laid claim to the empire with deceit and flattery – and who will be ultimately reduced to nothing after the return of Jesus. “I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee,” the Bible says of Lucifer, and “all they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”

You know, given the remarkable accuracy of prophecy, I have a very high level of confidence that our current spiritual dictator is going to meet his absolute end, and so we can confidently choose now to live under new management – to live as if Jesus had already established His kingdom on this planet. And that – to me – sounds like a much better way to live.

And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. – Daniel 10:10,11

I want you to notice the level of God’s regard for Daniel in this passage. Heaven doesn’t think of Daniel as merely a treasured team member or a valuable employee – the title God uses is “greatly beloved,” and if you stop to think about it, that’s a surprising title for someone who’s part of the sinful human race. I mean, here we are, in utter rebellion against God – and no matter how well Daniel behaves – no matter how religious he is – he’s still a man with a sinful heart.

Just like you and me, he’s been corrupted by the effects of sin, and he deserves the wages of sin, which the Bible assures is death. And yet, there is something that happens in this passage that we can’t afford to miss: Daniel is called “greatly beloved.” He’s just seen a vision of Jesus, and that vision includes a number of clear references to the plan of salvation: Jesus is dressed like an Old Testament priest, and His feet look like polished brass. In a matching description the book of Revelation, it describes Jesus’ feet as bronze that is burned in the fire. The feet, of course, are a symbol of possession – and this is a way of telling us that Jesus will take possession of His kingdom after passing through a furnace.

Daniel saw Jesus as the priest in heaven’s sanctuary, as One who would secure our salvation through His blood – and right after he sees this picture of Jesus as our Redeemer, God calls him “greatly beloved.” Now ask yourself – doesn’t that same picture of Jesus say something about you? “For God so loved the world,” the Bible says, “that He gave His only begotten son.”

Even before the human race sinned, the Bible says that Jesus had made the decision to go to the cross. Revelation 13:8 calls Him the “lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.” 2 Timothy 1:9 says that we have been called through Jesus “before the world began.” Now think about what that means: right in the beginning, God decided that we were so valuable to Him that He made arrangements to save us should something go wrong.

It means that God doesn’t take your salvation lightly. In spite of who you are – in spite of anything you’ve done – God still wants you in His kingdom. And through Jesus Christ, and through the words of the Bible, you can still have the privilege of feeling a hand on your shoulder and hearing heaven call YOU “greatly beloved.”

I wonder how much different your life would be today if you were to stop periodically and remind yourself of that one simple fact: God has placed an unbelievably high value on you. And I wonder what would happen, if today, we were to remember that God places that same value on the people we meet and interact with. I’m guessing we’d find that knowing our place with God, in spite of who we are, is just a better way to live.