The Great Second Advent Movement: Its Rise and Progress

Humble Men in the Reformation

We find the same principle exemplified in the lives of the great Reformers of the sixteenth century. The historian says: “The Reformer Zwingle emerged from an Alpine shepherd’s hut; Melanchthon, the theologian of the Reformation, from an armorer’s shop; and Luther from the cottage of a poor miner.” Of himself, Luther said: “My parents were very poor. My father was a poor wood-cutter (afterwards he became a miner), and my mother has often carried wood upon her back, that she might procure the means of bringing up her children. They endured the severest labor for our sakes.” GSAM 35.2

The apostle James, speaking of the calling of the people to the Lord’s service, says, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” ⁴⁴ GSAM 35.3