Don’t Let the Axhead Sink

My mom was an intrepid seeker of truth and immersed herself in the Bible, focusing on doing what it instructed. She also learned to love the writings of Ellen White, who provided counsel on so many subjects—salvation and how to know God better, but also how to live out Bible principles on health, wellness, relationships, care for the poor, stewardship, lifestyle choices, Sabbath observance, hospitality, and more.

One day someone gave Mother the book Education. From it she learned the eternal importance of providing a Bible-based education for children and youth, even at the cost of financial sacrifice, inconvenience, and hardship. But there was a problem: There was no Adventist school where we lived.

When the local conference personnel committee interviewed my dad for the position of farm manager and student labor supervisor at Upper Columbia Academy (UCA) in Washington State, they were stunned. After looking at my dad’s immaculate barn and skillfully maintained wheat fields, and hearing about his management skills developed as an officer during World War II, they invited him to accept.

My mother was overjoyed to hear that UCA also had an Adventist elementary school on campus in which my brother Dave and I could enroll. My dad’s pay was significantly less than what he had received for managing my great-uncle’s ranch, but my parents considered the value of Christian education far surpassing mere earthly compensation.

We moved to UCA and loved our new environment, making many Adventist friends. But my mom was still reading Education! After several years she announced to my dad: “Adolph, here it says that your intellect should be cultivated in a Bible-based environment. I think you should go to an Adventist college. You are intelligent, hardworking, and a gifted leader.”

But my dad was also 38, had a family, a wife, two kids, and no savings. Adventist colleges and universities are expensive. To make a long story short, despite many colleagues urging against it, our family moved from Washington State to Andrews University, at that time Emmanuel Missionary College (EMC), in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Many of the married students at EMC sent their children to the free public schools in the area because they thought they didn’t have resources to support Christian education.

Such an idea never entered my parents’ minds. We shopped at a discount store, gleaned fruit in the orchards, and preserved copious amounts of food. My dad worked 40 hours a week taking a full academic load with a science major and minor, graduating successfully in four years. He then accepted an invitation to teach at an Adventist academy, where my brother and I could attend. I believe my parents’ choice to support me in Adventist education and my own choice to continue in Adventist education as an adult is the primary reason I am still a Seventh-day Adventist Christian today and steadfastly committed to growing in Jesus.

That sacrifice my parents made wasn’t just about a career change; it was a recognition that where we learn determines who we become. This conviction—that a Bible-based environment is the most fertile ground for a life of faith—didn’t start in a wheat field in Washington or a college in Michigan; it began thousands of years ago with a prophet who saw education as the heartbeat of a nation’s spiritual health.

Developing Thinkers, Not Reflectors

The Bible isn’t just a collection of ancient fables; it’s a gallery of real-life stories featuring people who faced the same highs and lows we do. One such story in 2 Kings 6 follows the prophet Elisha—who was, in many ways, the “director of education” for his time. He spent his life traveling between schools of the prophets in places such as Jericho and Bethel, ensuring that the mission of true education remained strong. You can read the story in 2 Kings 6:1-7.

That sacrifice my parents made wasn’t just about a career change.

Elisha understood that these schools were the most effective way to promote the “righteousness which exalts a nation.”[1] Today we face a similar call. The Jericho school was growing so fast that they ran out of space. Their response to that growth gives us a blueprint for what Adventist education should look like today.

In the story, it wasn’t the teachers who first noticed that the campus was too small—it was the students. This is a primary goal of Adventist education: to train young people to think for themselves and analyze their environment.

Today we live in a world in which the very definition of “truth” feels as if it’s shifting under our feet. We are told that truth is personal—“your truth” versus “my truth”—and that morality is a moving target. But when everything is relative, nothing is certain. Adventist education exists because we believe students deserve more than a degree; they deserve a foundation. In a culture of “moral relativism,” our schools are built on the Word of God—the only absolute truth that doesn’t change with the trends of the decade.

And who is the center of that Word? Jesus! Jesus as the God-man, Jesus as our living, dying, and resurrected substitute, Jesus the mediator in heaven’s most holy place. Jesus—the returning Savior who will rescue us from this planet of woe.

True education is more than memorizing facts for a test. As Ellen White famously wrote, the goal is to develop “thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thought.”[2] Like the students in Elisha’s day who realized that their school was too small and stepped up to build a new one, we are training a generation to see problems in the world and say, “In Christ’s strength, let’s go fix this.” We don’t want “educated weaklings” who are slaves to their circumstances. In an age of constant electronic distraction, our schools are to teach students to unplug, analyze, and lead with Bible-based purpose. These students didn’t just complain about the cramped quarters; they proposed a solution: “Let’s go to the Jordan and build something new.”

They didn’t wait for a committee; they were ready to do the heavy lifting themselves.

The “Borrowed Ax” and Modern Obstacles

Building something great isn’t easy. In the Bible story they even had to borrow their tools. Today the “borrowed ax” might be high tuition, long commutes, or aging facilities. Many families face a crisis of resources: “Can I afford this?” “Is it worth the sacrifice?”

The miracle of the floating axhead teaches us that when we are on God’s mission, He provides the tools. When we prioritize His mission, He becomes our “Jehovah-Jireh,” the Great Provider. Just as He provided for my father—a rancher with no savings and a family to feed—He still provides for those who exercise faith over finances. We shouldn’t let school fees rob our children of their faith heritage.

One of the most beautiful parts of this story is that the students wanted their teacher, Elisha, to go with them. This reflects the ideal Adventist environment: a “winning combination” of youth and elders, students and teachers, working in mutual respect with a growing love for Jesus and an increasing desire to be like Him, to be renewed in His image.

Our schools should be safe spaces where our youth feel so connected to their mentors that when a crisis hits—such as a borrowed axhead falling into the water—they immediately turn to them for guidance. I love the example Elisha set in that emergency. He didn’t panic; he used the crisis as a lesson in faith. He expected the miraculous, he received the miracle he prayed for, and his students witnessed it—an event that must have strengthened their faith for the rest of their lives.

When God made the iron float for Elisha, it was a reminder that He can even suspend the “laws of science” to support His work.

God’s Original Algorithm

We live in an “information age,” yet we are starving for wisdom. We’ve been shaped by a global system designed to make us efficient employees but often at the cost of our souls. We go to school to find a job, but God says we should also go to school to find Him. Just as the students at the Jordan learned the value of manual work, our schools teach that life’s aim isn’t just personal gain but honoring the Creator through service, especially service and sacrifice for those who have less.

God’s original plan—the Eden model—wasn’t a sterile lecture hall; it was a family-centered experience. After the Fall, Jesus through His Spirit became the “connecting link” between earth and heaven and the Great Teacher of humanity. Think of Daniel and his friends in Babylon. They weren’t products of the reckless schools of Jerusalem; they were taught at home by “holy mothers” through song, prayer, and the Word. Because their foundation was the Bible, they could stand in a foreign land without losing their character.

Jesus, that model teacher, is now calling us to represent Him in our own classrooms. History shows that when Israel put the Word of God at the center of their homes and schools, they were the most prosperous and respected nation on earth. When they forgot the Word, they lost their identity.

Adventist education exists because we believe students deserve more than a degree; they deserve a foundation.

In the ancient world the “gold standard” was Athenian education, which focused on philosophy but ignored the Creator. Even today many universities hold the philosophies of humanity higher than the Bible. But the Bible reveals that this system is a “manifestation of ignorance” because it ignores the Creator. Above all other subjects—science, literature, languages, or math—the Word of God must be our “great textbook” and the basis of all education. When teachers and students prioritize the Bible, they find a “hidden treasure” that changes their daily lives, not just their résumés, status, or paychecks. Ecclesiastes 12:12 reminds us that “of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.” We can chase degrees forever and still feel empty.

We often produce people today who are technically brilliant but spiritually bankrupt—“educated ignorance” that ignores life’s highest priority: being prepared for eternity with Jesus.

Adventist education is designed to prepare children for “life here and now, and life everlasting.” The General Conference Education Department now oversees an international network of more than 10,000 schools and 2 million students in 115 countries. But does it make a difference in faith? Roger Dudley conducted a 10-year longitudinal study in North America. He found that of the Adventist young people educated in non-Adventist schools, only 19 percent remained in the church. In contrast, 67 percent of those educated in Adventist schools were still Adventists 10 years later.

A series of Valuegenesis studies reiterated this, showing the power of the home, school, and church working together.[3] When just the home and school work together, there is a 38 percent probability a young person will stay. But when the home, school, and church work together, that probability rises to 76 percent—almost double. As Solomon noted in Ecclesiastes 4:12: “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Adventist education is an investment. It’s not guaranteed. But that’s how God made us–with the freedom of choice and the opportunity to exercise that choice. Let’s do all we can to improve the odds that our children will choose Jesus and be saved at last in His kingdom!

The Call to Action

God made the ax float, but Elisha told the students in 2 Kings 6, “Pick it up for yourself” (verse 7). God provides the miracle, but He requires our participation. As Ellen White stated: “The secret of success is the union of divine power with human effort.”[4]

When a modern student hits a “lost axhead” moment—a mental health struggle, a doubt in faith, or a family crisis—they should be in an environment in which they can turn to a teacher who knows how to pray.

Adventist education is designed to prepare children for life here and now, and life everlasting. What is eternal life? In the words of Jesus, eternal life is “that they may know You, the only true God” (John 17:3). Seventh-day Adventists believe in Christ-focused schools because they know that getting a well-rounded Christian education is a wonderful way to fall in love with Jesus and prepare for a life of service.

Are you ready to trade the world’s system for God’s original plan? Whether you are a parent, a student, or a supporter, let’s commit to an education that prepares not just for a career but for heaven. Nothing—no extracurricular activity, no academic advantage, no career edge—could be more important than having our children in a Jesus-centered classroom.

An axhead at the bottom of the Jordan is useless for the work of the Master. We cannot leave our children to sink in the currents of a secular world. Will you commit today to being the “Elishas” who help them recover what is lost? This isn’t only about tuition; it’s about a rescue mission. Whether through your prayers or your pockets, let’s vow that no child who wants to attend our schools will be robbed of their faith foundation. Let’s invest in the only things we can actually take to heaven: our characters and our children.

[1] Ellen G. White, “The Schools of the Ancient Hebrews,” Review and Herald, Oct. 30, 1900.

[2] Ellen G. White, Education (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1903), p. 17.

[3] https://www.adventisteducators.org/2017/12/english-article-73/

[4] Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890, 1908), p. 509.