George Muller

Title: George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans
Author: Janet & Geoff Benge
Series: Christian Heroes: Then & Now
Major Themes: George Muller, England, Prussia, Germany, Orphans, Orphanages
Synopsis: From a liar, cheat and thief, George Muller was transformed into a preacher who trusted God for everything, including caring for thousands of orphans.

I was a little shocked last night when I checked our website and discovered that I have never written a review of the Christian Heroes: Then and Now biography of George Muller. We have read this wonderful book so many times I was sure I had reviewed it before. It’s a good thing that I checked! I just finished reading this to my daughter, and she found it quite fascinating.

The way this book begins, it is a little bit hard to believe it would be included in a series about Christian heroes. As a teenager, George Muller lied, stole, and schemed up ways to cheat his friends out of whatever he wanted. It was bad enough that after the first chapter or two, when I picked up this book to read it, one of the children would ask, “Is that the book about the bad guy?” After another few chapters, though, it changed to, “The bad guy who turned into a good guy.” That description fits George Mueller well. From thinking only of himself and what he wanted, he became a man who wanted nothing except what God wanted. It wasn’t long before he came to the conclusion that he should never ask anyone for money, but rely only on God.

Soon after graduation from the University of Halle, George left his native Prussia to learn, in England, how to be a missionary to the Jews. Through a long series of events, however, he ended up married, and living in Bristol, sharing the job of pastor of a small church with another man. Then, as he looked around the streets of the city, he noticed how many children tried to live on the streets. He wanted to do what he could for them. Although the beginning of his work was just feeding breakfast to a few of them, it grew and grew. Eventually, he had provided homes for tens of thousands of orphans.

In George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans, Janet and Geoff Benge have written a fascinating account of a man that many people have heard of. This was one of the very first books written in the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series, and it is one of the best. This is a biography that everyone should read. I have read it to four groups of my children now, and I’ll probably read it another time before my homeschooling years are done. It is definitely inspiring and encourages everyone to trust God for all they need. 

No warnings!

——————
Related posts:

David Livingstone: Africa’s Trailblazer Wilfred Grenfell: Fisher of Men Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar Christian Heroes: Then and Now Series