Maltbie Davenport Babcock

“Christianity is not a voice in the wilderness, but a life in the world. It is not an idea in the air but feet on the ground going God’s way. It is not an exotic to be kept under glass, but a hardy plant to bear twelve months of fruits in all kinds of weather. Fidelity to duty is its root and branch. Nothing we can say to the Lord, no calling Him by great or dear names, can take the place of the plain doing of His will. We may cry out about the beauty of eating bread with Him in His kingdom, but it is wasted breath and a rootless hope unless we plow and plant in His kingdom here and now. To remember Him at His table and to forget Him at ours, is to have invested in bad securities. There is no substitute for plain, every-day goodness”
– Maltbie Davenport (Mattie D) Babcock

2 thoughts on “Maltbie Davenport Babcock”

“Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he ‘followed at a distance’ on dry land. (Mark 14:54) We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises – human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God – but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people – and this is not learned in one hour.”

–Oswald Chambers

If I can sweep and mop a floor for Christ (practicing His Presence), this is how a saint lives his life. It is in the little details of our lives that we glorify God in our bodies.

Years ago, I was working at this lumberyard in Ames, Iowa. For five years, I worked for one of the best foremen I ever worked for. Eventually, he moved on and got a better job. Then we had this foreman who was pretty much worthless. For a few weeks, I actually thought of quitting and finding another job. Then I realized that I wasn’t merely working for that lumberyard, I was working for the Lord Jesus Christ. My attitude changed considerably for the better and I continued to work at that lumberyard for another four years, till the Lord told me to quit and move on to something else.

If we are faithful in small things, we will be faithful in big things. The Presence of God is right here right now–not after we have done some great visible work for the Lord that thousands of people can see. A great work for the Lord can be in a simple act of obedience.

I was hitchhiking in Montana years ago. I was walking down this highway and then the Lord told me to go down this road that I knew did not have a lot of traffic. I obeyed, but in my mind, I said, I won’t get a ride because there’s not much traffic. I walked maybe a mile or so and this guy picked me up. We had the best talk about the things of God–it was very edifying. He drove me to this gas station where I got something to eat. It is always a good idea to obey the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense.

LikeLiked by 1 person