J. R. Miller

James Russell Miller was born on March 20, 1840, in Frankfort Springs, Pennsylvania. His father was a farmer and a devout Presbyterian, and the family lived a simple life. James attended the local schools and then went to Westminster College in Pennsylvania, where he studied for two years. He was converted as a young man and joined the church. He was drawn to the ministry, but his plans were interrupted by the Civil War. He served as a private in the Union army for a short time and then worked with the Christian Commission, which ministered to soldiers.

After the war, he studied at Allegheny Theological Seminary, and he was ordained in 1867. He served as a pastor in several Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois. He was a gentle and sympathetic man, and he cared for the sorrowing and the sick. He had a gift for speaking to the hearts of ordinary people. In 1880, while he was a pastor in Philadelphia, he was asked to join the Presbyterian Board of Publication as the editor of its Sunday school papers. He took up this post and held it for the rest of his life.

He edited the Westminster Teacher and the Presbyterian Board's publications for children. His articles were read by hundreds of thousands. He used his position to write a stream of devotional essays on the Christian life. His books number more than sixty, and they were among the best sellers of the late nineteenth century. Among them are Secrets of a Beautiful Life, Making the Most of Life, In Perfect Peace, The Building of Character and Come Ye Apart. They were short, direct and warm, written to help ordinary people to live a life of faith and love.

He wrote about the common duties of daily life, such as kindness, patience and forgiveness. He urged his readers to see the work of Christ in everyday things. He had a gift for illustration and used the stories of ordinary people. He spoke of the beauty of a life lived for others. He taught that the way to grow in holiness is to do the next duty in love. His stress was on practical goodness and on the quiet virtues. Many of his readers found comfort in his words.

His writings had weaknesses. They were often sentimental and gave little attention to the harder questions of doctrine. They did not deal with the deep issues of sin and judgment. Critics said that his work was shallow and that it taught a gospel of niceness. His books were of their time and have faded from view, though they have a quiet power for those who read them in the right spirit. He did not claim to be a great thinker. He said that he wanted to help people to love Christ.

He was a man of retiring habits who did not seek the limelight. He took joy in his family and in his friends. He was also a person who knew sorrow. His wife died in 1911, after many years of marriage, and he missed her deeply. He also suffered from poor health in his last years.

He died on July 2, 1912, in Philadelphia, at the age of seventy-two. His books continued to circulate long after his death. His life shows the value of a gentle voice and the way that a man can serve the church through his pen, helping people day by day to live for the Lord.