The Hound of Heaven never quits, so why should I?

Francis Thompson was a brilliant man. Born to successful parents, he first studied for the priesthood then later earned a medical degree. His mind was engaging and captivating. He could write the most beautiful verse that touched on many hearts.

He was also an opium addict.

And he was on the run from God. His most famous work, The Hound of Heaven, tells the story:

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind
and in the mist of tears I hid from Him…”

Thompson was haunted by the story of Jacob. Exodus tells the story of a dream that Jacob had one night, of a ladder perched between heaven and earth with God Himself at the top of the ladder. When Jacob awoke from the dream he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

God shows up in places we don’t expect him, places we weren’t even aware. He beckons. He calls us by name. His pursuit never quits.

Thompson eventually turned to Jesus and found a sweet surrender.
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!
Halts by me that footfall.
Is my gloom, after all, Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly ?
Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He Whom thou seekest !
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest me.”

People have given up on me in the past — those who I never thought would quit, did. And this has made me to reflect. Am I a quitter too? Have I given up on people at work, in my neighborhood and in my family. God didn’t give up on me. What gives me the right to give up on them?

What do you think?
Comment here.