The young preacher wept freely as he read and reread the letter from his father. Somehow, someway, the word of a slanderer had reached the ear of his father. The faithful father had written a letter of strong but loving rebuke, chiding the son for his waywardness and backsliding. Tears streaked down the son’s cheeks as he thought of the pain and anguish that his father must feel.

But the son was innocent! He knew in his heart that he had not committed the deed of which he was accused. But how could he correct the mistake? He was in Australia, and his father was in London, far away on the other side of the world. It would be many weeks—even months perhaps—before Charles Haddon Spurgeon could learn that his son, Thomas, was innocent of this deed. How many long and sleepless nights lay ahead? How could he rectify the mistake and erase the shame of his father or the tears of his loving mother?

Thomas Spurgeon rested his case in the hands of the Almighty. His father had taught him as a boy that God was an ever-present God. Thomas understood that this meant that the all-seeing God is just as present with him in Australia as He was with his famous father far away in London. God saw his case. God knew his innocence, and God would bring the truth to light.

Several days went by. Thomas had prayed, committing his case to God, so he faithfully continued with his duty. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Thomas received a very rare cablegram. He knew that sending a message across the ocean by cable was very expensive, as a customer was required to pay by each character in the post.

Quickly he scanned the cablegram. The message from his father was brief, but it flooded his heart with joy and relief: “Disregard my letter; was misinformed.”

The delighted and relieved son later wrote, “I cannot tell you the thrill of joy that filled my heart to feel that I was restored to my father’s approbation and confidence . . . It was many months ere I could come into possession of particulars, but to know that he had found out his mistake and that confidence was restored, why, it was almost worthwhile having been in the sorrow to experience the delicious thrill.”

Thomas Spurgeon was born on September 20, 1856. He was one of the twin sons of Charles and Susannah Spurgeon, the only two children the couple ever had. His brother, Charles, had been born only a few moments before him. As the first to enter the world, it was natural that Charles should bear his father’s name. The younger son was named Thomas, because his name means “twin” in Hebrew.

However, Thomas himself had an alternative explanation for his name. His mother’s maiden name was Thompson, so he claimed, “It was quite natural that I should be ‘Son Tom.’”

Both boys were honorable lads who sat each Lord’s Day listening to their father preach to multitudes. They were only a year old when Spurgeon preached to the largest crowd he ever addressed; more than 23,000 were in attendance at the Crystal Palace when he preached there in 1857. But to his sons Charles and Tom, Charles Spurgeon was first a father and then a preacher. He loved his sons deeply and spent as much time with them as his demanding schedule allowed.

Like other boys, Charles and Tom loved to play in the fields, fish in the streams, skate on frozen ponds, and row across lakes in their rowboat. But they also loved to sit in their father’s study to be near him while he prepared his sermons. Tom smiled to remember once when his father offered him a sixpence if he would only sit very still for a quarter of an hour.

The two brothers also loved to sit with their mother while she played the piano. One boy would sit on each side of Susanna Spurgeon as she played and taught them to sing the songs of Zion. They especially enjoyed singing their father’s favorite hymn, “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.”

When asked by a friend which of his two boys was the best behaved, Charles Spurgeon answered with his ever-present quick wit and way with words, “Charlie is the best boy when Tom is not with him, and Tom is best when Charlie is away.”

Tom Spurgeon distinctly remembered the day when he went down to the breakfast table, put his arms around his mother’s neck, and announced to his parents that he had put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Charles Spurgeon had the joy of baptizing his sons and welcoming them as members of the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

While his brother Charles showed an aptitude for business, Tom Spurgeon showed unusual skill as an artist. Both boys naturally learned to preach. Tom set out to learn a trade as an apprentice to a wood engraver, and he soon attained good skill with his tools.

Yet, ill health plagued Tom Spurgeon in his young adult years. It was thought that a voyage to a drier, warmer climate would be helpful. An opportunity arose for Tom to go to Australia in 1877, when he was twenty-one years old.

In God’s providence, this decision would set the course for much of Tom’s life. As the son of the famous London preacher and bearing the Spurgeon name, the young Spurgeon was asked to preach on numerous occasions in Australia, where he first sought to earn a living as an artist. Eventually, he was carving less and less and preaching more and more.

His father wrote many warm and fatherly letters to him, giving him helpful advice, passing on the wisdom of experience, and warning him of lurking dangers. Tom Spurgeon did return to England, but the wet, cold climate soon drove him back to the warmth of the South Seas, where he traveled and preached throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Pastoring a smaller church on the other side of the world from his famous father was not easy. But Jesus had promised in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three were gathered together in His name, “There am in the midst of them.” Tom believed that promise with all his heart.

With his father’s blessing, Tom Spurgeon eventually became the pastor of Auckland Baptist Tabernacle. On February 10, 1888, Tom married a Godly girl named Lila Rutherford, whose father was a firm, committed Christian who lived in New Zealand. In a remarkable blessing of Providence, George Müller was in New Zealand at the time and able to attend the wedding!

Although Tom’s parents, Charles and Susannah, were on the other side of the world, they knew that the omnipresent God would abide upon their son Tom with His blessing and guidance. Tom and Lila had a little daughter whom they named Daisy. She was born on Christmas Day of that same year, but she lived only three months before being translated into the arms of Jesus. God later blessed the couple with a son, whom they also named Thomas.

Upon the death of his father in 1892, Thomas Spurgeon accepted the pastorate of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. His health was strong enough by this time for him to return to England to occupy his father’s pulpit. Thomas Spurgeon served as pastor for fifteen years. He also served as president of the Pastors’ College. Tom lived a long and full life, and he served his father’s God with all his heart and for all his days.

Thomas Spurgeon spent his final years in quiet retirement in his garden and among his family, still preaching when he was able. On the morning of October 20, 1917, he spoke of a pain between his eyes. Sometime around noon that day, he was with his Savior in glory.

Sources and Further Reference:

Fullerton, W. Y. Thomas Spurgeon: A Biography. London, UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919.