The following message is addressed to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America from Abner De los Santos, President of the Inter-American Division. — IAD News Staff
April 17, 2026 | Miami, Florida, United States | By Abner De los Santos, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Adventist Church in the Inter-American Division
Hello, dear Inter-American family. I invite you to open your Bible with me today.
Let us read from Isaiah, chapter 6, verse 7. It says:
“With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for‘” (NIV)
In this passage we find a wonderful truth: before sending Isaiah, God cleansed him. Before the call to serve came grace. Before the mission came forgiveness.
After being in the presence of the Lord, Isaiah recognized his need. But God did not leave him in that condition. A seraph touched his lips with a live coal from the altar, and through that act confirmed that his guilt had been taken away and his sin forgiven.
What great hope this is for us today as well. When God calls us, it is not from a place of guilt, but from a position of restoration. He does not send us from a place of condemnation, but from a place of grace. First He forgives, purifies, and transforms us; then He invites us to participate in His work.
This is the foundation of every missionary life and every spiritual leader. We do not serve in order to gain God’s favor; we serve because we have already been reached by His grace. And when we experience that forgiveness, our hearts are ready to respond to His voice.
I pray that as we contemplate Christ today, we may experience His grace in a personal and profound way, and that as we are renewed by Him, we will live each day with hearts ready to fulfill His mission.