Amy Carmichael (1867-1951) is well known as the devout, faith-filled Irish missionary who served in India for fifty-six years. Her primary ministry there became one of caring for the spiritual and material needs of more than 2,500 orphans, many of whom had been rescued from lives of temple prostitution.
While such ministry was extremely significant and commendable, it involved a great deal of mundane, self-sacrificial work. Early in her orphan ministry Amy found herself questioning the value of such common service as compared to explicitly “spiritual” ministry.
What she learned and then taught her ministry associates and the children they served, instructs and encourages us in carrying out our own responsibilities of life which seem more commonplace than significant and spiritual to us.
By June 1904, Amy’s orphan ministry in India had grown to include seventeen infants and young children, six of whom had been rescued from temple slavery and prostitution. Amy and the native women of her mission compound faced the relentless, often messy, routine of caring for squalling babies.
As a result, Amy was not able to devote as much time as she previously had to evangelistic work. “Could it be right,” she wondered, “to turn from so much that might be of profit and become just nursemaids?”
Remembering the example of her Lord who washed His disciples’ feet, she concluded the answer to her own question was surely “yes.” The servant is not above his master, and it is not the concern of the servant to decide which work is great and important, and which is small and unimportant.
Years later, she wrote on this same subject: “If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider ‘not spiritual work’ I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”
Some of the more recent converts, both young nurses and older women, objected to doing such childcare work, considering it beneath their caste. But Amy had taught her primary Indian assistant in the orphan ministry, Ponnammal, that “motherwork,” like all other honest labor, is God’s work. It is not to be despised but offered up to Him. Ponnammal, in turn, set an example for the others by quietly doing the tasks they did not care to do. Her spirit influenced others, and eventually there was not a single nurse among them who refused to do whatever needed to be done.
As the children grew, they too were taught to serve by helping with the work. They helped keep the house tidy, husked rice, picked fruit and cleaned rice vessels. To encourage them in their work, Amy taught them a song:
Jesus, Savior, dost Thou see
When I’m doing work for Thee?
Common things, not great and grand,
Carrying stones and earth and sand?
I did common work, you know,
Many, many years ago;
And I don’t forget. I see
Everything you do for Me.
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This and other instructive examples of Christians faithfully, humbly carrying out their service of the Lord, even when it seemed mundane and secular rather than exciting and spiritual, can be found in my book Timeless Stories: God’s Incredible Work in the Lives of Inspiring Christians (Christian Focus Publications). If you’ve appreciated and benefited from this blog, thanks for sharing it with others.
Copyright 2026 by Vance E. Christie