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F.B. Meyer
Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847 - 1929). English Baptist pastor, author, and evangelist born in London. Converted at eight, he studied at Regent’s Park College and graduated from London University in 1869. Ordained in 1870, he pastored in Liverpool, York, and London, notably at Christ Church, Lambeth, and Regent’s Park Chapel, growing congregations through accessible preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention’s holiness movement, he emphasized deeper spiritual life and social reform, advocating for the poor and prisoners. Meyer wrote over 75 books, including The Secret of Guidance (1896) and Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ, with millions of copies sold globally. He traveled to North America, Asia, and South Africa, influencing figures like D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon. Married twice—first to Jane Elder in 1874, then Lucy Holloway in 1898—he had one daughter. His temperance work led to 500 pub closures in York. Meyer’s devotional writings and Bible studies remain influential in evangelical circles.
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F.B. Meyer reflects on the miraculous event of the shadow returning backward ten degrees, using it as a metaphor for the possibility of reclaiming lost time and experiences in our lives. He emphasizes that while wasted years cannot be reversed, true repentance and turning to God can restore the shadow of a wasted life. Meyer encourages believers that even in the twilight of life, through fellowship with God, one can regain the joy of happier days. He also reassures those grieving the loss of loved ones that Christ's love can restore and surpass earthly relationships, offering hope for reunion in the afterlife.
Let the Shadow Return Backward Ten Degrees.
Let the shadow return backward ten degrees. 2 Kings xx. 10. IT is impossible for us to understand how this could be. The shadow of the declining day waxes ever longer, and only a miracle could change its appearance on the dial. It may suggest some significant thoughts about shadows that may still go back. The shadow of a wasted life. ‑‑ Of course, there is a sense in which the wasted years will never come again; they have passed beyond recall. But the shadow may go back on the dial of our life when we truly repent, and turn again to God, for He hath promised: "I will never leave thee, neither forsake thee." And "I will give back the years that the canker worm and caterpillar have eaten." The shadow of happier days. ‑‑ These seem to have gone. For long you have noticed the growing twilight, and it has seemed impossible ever again to have the lightsomeness and spring of one or two decades back. But be of good cheer, for when a man comes into that fellowship with God which sorrow and temptation teach, when with growing years he attains added grace, we are told that he shall return to the days of his youth. The shadow of early affection. ‑‑ Have you lost loved ones, so that your life is like a house the windows of which, one after another, have become shuttered and dark? But love is not forfeited for ever. Those who forsake all for Christ's sake shall get all back again in Him. His love comprehends all human love. The relationships of his kingdom surpass in tenderness and tenacity those of the warmest earthly ties. Thy brother shall rise again, and thou shalt hear him call thy name, and shalt sit with him in the Home of Life.
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Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847 - 1929). English Baptist pastor, author, and evangelist born in London. Converted at eight, he studied at Regent’s Park College and graduated from London University in 1869. Ordained in 1870, he pastored in Liverpool, York, and London, notably at Christ Church, Lambeth, and Regent’s Park Chapel, growing congregations through accessible preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention’s holiness movement, he emphasized deeper spiritual life and social reform, advocating for the poor and prisoners. Meyer wrote over 75 books, including The Secret of Guidance (1896) and Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ, with millions of copies sold globally. He traveled to North America, Asia, and South Africa, influencing figures like D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon. Married twice—first to Jane Elder in 1874, then Lucy Holloway in 1898—he had one daughter. His temperance work led to 500 pub closures in York. Meyer’s devotional writings and Bible studies remain influential in evangelical circles.