Life In The World (by Carolyn Marshall)

You could ask 100 people what Christianity meant to them, and you would probably get 100 different answers. Each response would depend on where they were in their own personal walk with the Lord.



© 2010 Carolyn Marshall, Living Life Photography

Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) was a well-known clergyman and noted for his writing in the 19th century. Many of you are probably familiar with the poem he wrote called This Is My Father’s World, which has been sung as a hymn for many years. He also wrote a wonderful description of Christianity that I would like to share with you today. It is simply called “Christianity”:

“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.”

Let us all live this life in a way that will glorify our Lord. His love is too rich a gift to be (as Mr. Babcock put it) “kept under glass”.