This is the second biographical sketch that I am writing on a Christian from the past, and this person happens to be one individual who has influenced me greatly. He is, in my opinion, better known than Henry Martyn, but tends to be only superficially developed. It's a shame, because when I read about him in detail I am amazed at the great testimony of God's faithfulness throughout his life. This guy is named George Muller, and he lived during the 19th century, immigrating over to England from Germany. Muller is best known for starting an orphanage ministry in Bristol, England, and relying solely upon God for providing for the work's needs. In every aspect of his life the grace of God is shown, and this is why I am presenting him here on my blog. If God was not glorified through his life, then there is no reason to put him forward. Please accept my apologies for the seemingly excessive length of this entry.
George Muller was born on September 27, 1805, in a small town named Kroppenstedt, Prussia (now Germany). When I searched for this place on Google Earth, I was struck by how tiny it still is today (pop. 1,675). Surely God does wonderful things in calling His servants out of so many obscure places across the world. I know my own hometown (Walker Valley, NY) isn't much either. Anyway, George Muller's first 20 years were spent in prodigal sin. He frittered away the money given to him by his father in wild pursuits, and lived a double life even while studying to become a Lutheran clergyman in accordance with his father's wishes. The very night his mother died, he was gambling and getting drunk with his friends. After Muller was finally thrown into prison for nearly a month at the age of 16, his father sent him off to a stricter school, where he tried, unsuccessfully, to reform himself into a better and more respectable person. At last, in 1825, when a friend of Muller's invited him to a Christian gathering, the grace of God shone upon him and he was converted.
As usually happens to Christians upon their being born anew, George Muller's thoughts immediately turned to ministry, especially missionary work. He accordingly began to search for opportunities, and traveled to England to study under the London Missionary Society. During this time, due to much searching of the Bible, George Muller first began to develop his strong convictions. He eventually realized that, since the Society strictly controlled its missionaries and was too closely connected with the English government ("union of church and state"), he could not conscientiously serve under it. Accordingly, Muller began to minister among people in the area west of London, in such towns as Teignmouth and Bristol. Eventually, he joined up with the Open Brethren, a group of believers who determined to live simply, according to the practice of the early church of the book of Acts. In 1830, Muller married Mary Groves, sister of Anthony Norris Groves, who is known as one of the first "faith missionaries," having served in the Middle East.
It was during this time that George Muller solidified the convictions for which he is best known. He began to live "by faith," not asking anyone else but God to supply his needs. For instance, he refused to accept a stated salary as the pastor of the Brethren church he ministered in, since he wished the believers to give according to God's leading. He also wanted to be sure that he was relying completely upon God, instead of upon "an arm of flesh" - i.e., of other human beings. This approach may seem strange to many, and downright impossible in today's world, but there is no doubt that God honored George Muller's conviction. Not everyone is called to such a way to live, but for those who are called it is a wonderful opportunity to see the providence of a bountiful God. I myself have been very much influenced by Muller's example here.
As time went on, George Muller became burdened with the fact that there was still not much Biblical knowledge among the people he was acquainted with, as well as the deplorable mingling of worldly practices with the then-existing ministries in England (for example, many societies operated on a fee-based membership, and many unsaved people thereby became associated with them simply by paying the fee). He, along with his fellow believers, began "The Scriptural Knowledge Institution," which would publish Bibles, tracts, send out missionaries, and run Sunday Schools for children. This would continue for the course of his long life.
In 1835, Muller first began to think about establishing his most renowned enterprise, an Orphan House ministry for the children who otherwise would be enslaved to the mines and factories springing up everywhere in England during this time, or left to pursue a life of crime on the streets (aka Oliver Twist). Here is a summary of his own reasonings concerning the matter:
"I certainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit the bodies of poor children, bereaved of both parents, and seek, in other respects, with the help of God, to do them good for this life ;-I also particularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear of God ;-but still, the first and primary object of the work was, (and still is:) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided, with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without any one being asked by me or my fellow-labourers, whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL."
Muller rented a large house in Bristol, and began to take in orphans. Within a year, the ministry had expanded to over 50 orphans and 2 houses. What was singularly remarkable was that Muller refused to solicit donations in any way, preferring instead to depend upon God to provide for the orphans, just as he had been doing in his own personal life. As he saw it, God would use the ministry of other Christians - even those across oceans and seas - to send the money that was needed for daily expenses. George Muller habitually published, every year, an account of what God had done for the orphanage ministry, and the Lord used this, along with word of mouth and other means, to stir up the hearts of many of His saints to provide for needs, even though Muller himself never asked outrightly for funds. Money came in from the most unlikely places, from the most unexpected people - saints of all types of status, age, and language. This would continue until the end of Muller's life, and even afterwards.
God was providing, but He often waited until the very last second, literally, to meet the needs of the day. George Muller wrote multiple times in his reports about how money had been called for to immediately pay for necessities, and he had then received donations exactly when they were required. Let me provide an example:
December 1, 1840: To-day we were so poor as to the Orphan-Fund, that we should not have been able to meet the demands of the day; but the Lord’s loving heart remembered us. There came in this morning 5 pounds, 7 shillings for some of the articles which were sent some time since from Stafford. I have purposely again and again mentioned how the help, which the love of some saints at Leeds and Stafford sent, delivered us, that it might be manifest that those donors were directed by the Lord in this matter.
There are hundreds of such events mentioned in the six decades of Muller's orphan ministry!
The ministry kept growing. Eventually, Muller began to build brand-new brick houses specifically designed to accommodate the orphans. This was an even bigger step of faith - thousands of pounds were required in hand before construction could even begin. Yet, George Muller refused to take out a loan or mortgage, often waiting at least 3 or 4 years for the money to accumulate in the building fund. This was because he was convinced that the Lord did not mean him to go into debt for any reason at all, since God is surely able as a Father to provide for all of His children's needs without them plunging into the contradictory position of being a slave to creditors. Scriptures such as Romans 13:8 ("Owe nobody anything but love") solidified this conviction. Only once the total construction sum was in hand would Muller commence the new house, because he was convinced that God was moving things along in His own timing. In all, 5 huge houses were built, and the whole process took 25 years. By 1870, there were over 2,000 children being accomodated in the Orphan Houses. The Houses were run with a design of training the children up in the fear of God and to apprentice them with skills so that they could contribute to society. In fact, it is said that so many kids went to the Houses that the factories and mines saw a shortage of child laborers. Truly, God had taken a small little effort and transformed it into a ministry that was changing successive generations in England and impacting the hearts and lives of Christians worldwide.
Bird's-eye view of the five Orphan Houses.
The Orphan Houses today, as seen in Google Earth (compare with the above picture).
You would think that George Muller at this time would say, "Well, yes, that's my life's work done right there. Time to retire and slowly fade away into the sunset." The truth is, amazingly, quite the opposite. At an age when most Americans have already entered into their hopeful dreams of recreational bliss, George Muller entered upon an entirely new ministry, one that traced its origins back to the days when he was a new creation in Christ. He had desired to be a missionary then, and God had deferred that opportunity for several decades. Now, the Orphan work was running well, and Muller was able to delegate most of the work to his subordinates - so he was free to travel around the world preaching the Gospel. From 1875 to 1892 (age 70 to 87), George Muller traveled approximately 200,000 miles, visiting countries all over the globe such as Israel, Australia, China, Japan, India, America, and Egypt. Even today with our higher life expectancy, such endurance seems inconceivable. No doubt it was the strength of God that kept him going. In fact, George Muller often stated that he felt better at 90 years of age than he had felt at 25 (mainly because he had suffered from several illnesses in his young adulthood).
During the last decade of his life, Muller did settle down just a little bit, but continued to oversee the Orphan ministry, along with his fellow worker and son-in-law James Wright. Even up to the time of his death, there were always trials and challenges of faith - for even though people all across the world knew about the ministry and were supporting it, expenditures continued to increase - 10,000's of pounds were now required to meet the needs of a single year. Yet as always, God continued to provide for a huge ministry, just as He had provided for a small undertaking. Size makes no difference to an omnipotent Lord!
A group of Orphan girls.
George Muller passed away peacefully on March 10, 1898, in his 93rd year. His ministry did not die with him. It yet continues today, albeit in a changed form. The orphanages continued to run until after World War II, when changes in the nature of social work for children across Britain occurred. The houses were then sold (they are now part of a college) and the organization focused on running family group homes for children. When that too became obsolete in the 1970's, a more diverse assortment of ministries began, aiming at reestablishing the importance of family structure - for this time period also saw the breakdown of the traditional family units amid the "freedom movements." Today, there are day-care centers, school workers, various children's ministries, nursing homes for the elderly, and as always the literature of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. "The George Muller Foundation" is the generic name under which all these ministries are represented. It still runs under the same principles which George Muller operated upon - depending upon God by faith alone, soliciting no donations, and not falling into debt.
The former Ashley Down Orphan Houses, now the City of Bristol College.
By the grace of God alone could a poor, destitute immigrant establish himself in a foreign country and carry out a ministry of mercy to literally tens of thousands of children and hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Here is a short list of what the Lord did through George Muller in terms of "financial aid" from the beginning of his ministry to his home-coming (figures are approximate):
- 110,000 pounds for day schools and Sunday Schools.
- 41,000 pounds for sale and distribution of Bibles.
- over 260,000 pounds for missionary work.
- 47,000 pounds for the sale and distribution of Christian literature.
- Almost one million pounds for the Orphan Ministry.
= Total: Nearly one-and-a-half million pounds sterling, received through prayer to God alone over a period of 64 years, without asking any human being for financial aid. This amounted to about $7,500,000 in American dollars at the time, which is worth much more in today's figures!
This is not a "get rich quick" scheme like what so many "prosperity gospel" preachers extol. This was a ministry difficult and laborious beyond imagination. Think of all the time George Muller labored in prayer, think of all the anxious moments he spent wondering where the next meal for the Orphans came from, think of the deep commitment and thankfulness to God such a ministry entails. What seems like small change in the course of a day can, over nearly six and a half decades, amount to a staggering sum. Such is how God works!
George Muller believed very strongly in the stewardship of money and in the Biblical truth of "laying up treasure in heaven." Accordingly, he lived simply and gave away much of the donations which he had received to supply his own personal needs. One estimate has him receiving 93,000 pounds over the course of his life, a veritable fortune. Yet, out of this he gave away over 81,000 pounds, leaving only 12,000 pounds to maintain himself over a time period of 60+ years. In fact, many times it was his own money that he used to bring the Orphan ministry relief from a pressing need; he never published this astonishing truth during the course of his life.Many have thus thought that George Muller was some kind of "super saint," blessed with an uncommon gift of faith. In fact, Muller himself denied such a status. He said that anyone could follow the principles he undertook and see the blessing of God in such an endeavour. The physical result would not necessarily be the same, of course, but God would still honor the commitment, provided that it is being done for His glory. I personally feel this is worth trying out!
I do not set this man up on a pedestal. There are some things about him which I feel need to be thought over. This is true of anyone who has ever lived. Yet on the whole I fully recommend his example - because his example is a true display of the grace of God and how it can transform one's life. We do not need to do exactly what George Muller did in order to apply the convictions which he got from Scripture. In fact, one of the things many people tend to overlook is that his ministry would not have succeeded without the contributions of individuals with similar convictions. Time upon time we see letters or gifts from believers who are following the same principles and likewise encouraging Muller in his labors. It is these people, these names on a page, whom God used to make George Muller the front-page, so to speak, of a most remarkable ministry of His grace and providence. This can be us, too. Only a name on a page to the human world, perhaps, but to God a book full of details, a written memorial of His amazing work on this earth. We live, not for ourselves or to see how great we become, but to make our God great. This is how George Muller lived, and this is why he engaged in the ministries that he began - to glorify God.
I strongly urge you all to purchase a good book about Muller and read through it thoroughly. If possible, get a book that uses his words as much as possible. There is something about reading a primary source that gets you up close and intimate with the course of events that is being described. George Muller himself wrote a "Narrative of the Lord's Dealings" in 6 parts for the benefit of the Christian public to be encouraged and challenged by. In it, he minutely describes the events of 65+ years' duration and records the exact sums of money which came in to supply the needs of the day. These very pages drip with passion and the faithfulness of God, without which they would be a boring and tiring drudgery. Sprinkled throughout these records is a trove of practical advice and testimonies of the Lord's providence. In fact, it is largely because of the personal, everyday nature of the work that I highly recommend it. It shows that spirituality is not lived in a vacuum; it actually impacts the daily doings of life.
Here, below, are the recommended titles. There are many other books in print, but I feel that they are superficial and do not fully express the nature of George Muller's work, although they can be read quickly by those who have little time on their hands.
- George Muller of Bristol, by Arthur Pierson - The "Authorized Biography," written not long after Muller's death. It uses many excerpts from his works and ties together the events well. Somewhat topical in format.
- The Autobiography of George Muller: A Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer - I believe this is the best treatment of the man (I got this one for my mom). It uses his own words 95% of the time, contains many nice black-and-white pictures, and is bulky, yet a doable read (about 725 pages). Available through Westminster Literature Resources and perhaps on Amazon.com if it is up for a special deal (I got it for $17). DO NOT get the smaller, cheaper edition that shows up first on the Amazon list (although it might be ok in some respects). The bigger one is definitely worth your money AND your time! A Note to BBC Students: Look in the far, far reaches of the school library (Hint: Think History section) for a simple, black-bound age-worn book with this title. No flashy advertising like The Purpose-Driven Life, but of 250X more value.
- A Narrative of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller - This is everything you can get about the man and his ministry, every word. For a long time, it was not in print at all, but a small company named Dust and Ashes Publications has taken the liberty to reissue this important book. It is for serious students of Muller, and is also available to read online for free, although a paper copy is the best way to appreciate such a vast work. I have just gotten the 2 volumes and express my sincere approval. For but $65 (and I truly believe it is worth $200 for its spiritual value), you can get a copy too. One caveat is that it may be slightly hard to follow at times, and it also does not cover the last 12 years of Muller's life - that is why I recommend the above Autobio as a more well-rounded resource. Some sermons are included too as well, which look like they will be an interesting read.
Some websites also to look at:
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpmueller.html - a collection of information on Muller's life.
http://www.mullers.org/ - The George Muller Foundation, which still operates today in England.
http://www.dustandashes.com/ - The Publisher of George Muller's Narratives (also has a free online copy of the work).
The Wikipedia entry is not too bad, either (Do check out the series on the China Inland Mission and the ministry of Hudson Taylor, it is an excellent example of how good Wikipedia can be under proper controls) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Muller
I have committed to following the example of this man. I'm not without Biblical precedent, since the Apostle Paul also said "Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ." Just as Jesus depended on His Heavenly Father for all things, so George Muller also depended on the Father to provide for his needs. Not all may agree with the precise way in which he carried out this conviction (Indeed, I feel not everyone is called to do so), but there is no doubt that it deserves admiration. It is truly a wonderful thing to be going through each day in total trust upon God, and it greatly strengthens and challenges faith. This year of 2007 has been full of uncertainties, but God has not allowed me to stumble, and now I have a apartment and three amazing roommates and a steady job. At one time, I was not humanly assured of anything, but in the eyes of God I was assured of everything. George Muller saw things the same way. So, with God's help, I will exercise the convictions that he operated upon (such as no debt for any reason, trusting the Lord for all things, whether it be through a job or no, etc). Feel free to dialogue with me on this matter.
This has been the longest entry on my blog to date. I pray that it may have seemed short in your mind - I could easily expand it to 10 times this length, so passionate am I about displaying the wonderful things God has done. Every time I think about George Muller, I am challenged to increase my devotion and adoration of the Lord. I hope what little things I've written here can make a difference.
