General Conference Session Is Over. Now What?

It’s over. The lights are out. The trucks have been loaded. The throngs have left an overwhelmed airport. The sixty-second General Conference (GC) Session is now Seventh-day Adventist history.

Before the closing act on July 12, delegates and guests were told to go on a mission. It’s the mission of sharing the healing and hope that are found in Jesus. Of being His hands and feet in this dark, cold world. Of sharing the water that springs up into everlasting life (John 4:14).

Thousands have committed to that mission. Now what?

Saddling One’s Donkey

In biblical times people who embarked on an errand, or a mission, would often start their preparations by saddling their donkey, a preferred means of transportation. A respectable person, however, would rarely do it themselves—at their command, sons or servants would saddle their donkey for them (1 Kings 13:13).

There are exceptions. When a particular mission was extremely important or urgent, the person themselves would rush to saddle their donkey before setting off on their journey as soon as possible. There are several examples in the Bible, but two contrasting ones stand out.

A Tale of Two Donkeys

First, there’s Abraham and his God-given mission. Though he was rich and had many servants, when the Lord told him to go to the land of Moriah to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, he “rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him” (Gen. 22:3). No time to waste. No desire to delegate. Abraham did it himself.

The second example comes from Numbers 22. When God finally allowed Balaam to answer to King Balak’s call, the prophet “rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab” (verse 21). Again, no time to waste. In his mind the mission he had was too important—or, in his case, profitable—to delegate the task.

Similar but Different

There is a clear similitude in the story, as both biblical characters answer to a direct communication from God. God talks, and both Abraham and Balaam obey without waiting or wavering.

The contrasts between the two experiences, however, couldn’t be greater. While Abraham follows God’s command even when he can’t fully understand what is going on, Balaam hurries to force his will into God’s plan. One complies blindly; the other one blindly pursues his own desires. One is moved by complete trust and a faith than can move mountains; the other one is driven by all-consuming greed and a desire for worldly honors. One is about to become a paragon for all believers in all generations; the other one is about to become a sobering lesson of what every follower of God should avoid.

One is a symbol of steady, glowing light; the other, the epitome of darkness, and ultimately, eternal death.

As We Go on Our Mission

As we put the 2025 GC Session in our rearview mirror and embark on our God-given mission, we’d better rush to “saddle our donkeys” ourselves. It is, above all, a personal mission. And it’s also an urgent one. No time to waste or delegate.

But the all-encompassing question is: what are we saddling our donkey for? Metaphor aside, it’s a question every one of us should strive to answer with the eye-opening salve of the Spirit.

What’s driving our mission?