Appeals Quote by Maltbie Davenport Babcock
“If a friend is the one who summons us to our best, then is not Jesus Christ our best friend, and should we not think of the Communion as one of His chief appeals to us to be our best? The Lord's Supper looks not back to our past with a critical eye, but to our future, with a hopeful one. The Master appeals from what we have been to what we may be. He bids us come, not because we are better than we have been, but because He wants us to be. To stay away because our hearts are cold is to refuse to go to the fire till we are warm.”
About This Quote
Source Sermon: The Lord's Supper, 1905
Jesus is presented as the ultimate friend who calls us to become our best selves, framing communion as an invitation to future growth rather than past judgment.
In simple terms: Christ invites us to grow.
Key Takeaway
Embrace communion as a call to transformation.
Themes
faith
friendship
spiritual growth
Mood
hopeful
reflective
Type
inspirational
theological
When to use this quote
- church services
- personal reflection
- spiritual counseling
Key Concepts
Christian theology
future orientation
Questions to Reflect On
- How does viewing communion as a future invitation affect your faith?
- What personal growth do you seek through this practice?
A Different Perspective
May focus on past guilt hinder present change.
![“[I]f the Lord's Supper effects nothing, consequently is nothing, … without a certain state of mind, without faith, then in faith alone lies its reality; the entire event goes forward in the feelings alone. … [I]t produces devout sentiments because it is itself a devout idea. … [H]ere also the…” quote by Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d7d/ludwig-feuerbach-3406_faith_i-f-the-lord-s-supper-effects-nothing-co_2829797.jpg)
