{"id":384,"date":"2010-10-13T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-13T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/he-wont-give-up-on-me-so-how-can-i-give-up-on-you\/"},"modified":"2010-10-13T07:30:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-13T13:30:00","slug":"he-wont-give-up-on-me-so-how-can-i-give-up-on-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/he-wont-give-up-on-me-so-how-can-i-give-up-on-you\/","title":{"rendered":"He won’t give up on me, so how can I give up on you?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\nFrancis Thompson<\/a><\/span> was a brilliant man. Born to successful parents, he first studied for the\u00a0<\/span>
priesthood then later earned a medical degree. His mind was engaging and captivating. He could write the most beautiful verse that touched on hearts<\/span>

<\/span>
He was also an opium addict. <\/span>

<\/span>
Despite his privilege, his education and his ticket to wealth, his addiction forced him to the streets and he took to selling matches and newspapers for a living. He lived in filth and destitution.\u00a0<\/span>He was on the run from God.<\/span><\/span>

<\/span>
His most famous work, <\/span>The Hound of Heaven<\/span><\/a>, tells the story:<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>
\u201cI 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\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/em><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/em><\/span>\n
<\/div>\n
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, \u201cSurely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.\u201d <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/span>
He doesn\u2019t give up on me<\/b><\/span>
God shows up in places we don\u2019t expect him, places we weren\u2019t even aware. He beckons. He calls us by name. His pursuit never quits.<\/span>
Thompson eventually turned to Jesus and found a sweet surrender.<\/span>

<\/span>
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.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em>

<\/span>
We are a society of quitters. Estranged parents, abandoned spouses, and spurned friends all can testify. And I myself have added to the suffering, turning aside those who were hurting, disobedient or just confused.<\/span>

<\/span>
We have all kinds of terms in this society to justify turning people away. \u201cFool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.\u201d \u201cGod helps those who help themselves,\u201d and \u201cThe ball is in his court,\u201d \u201cI deserve to be happy,\u201d and other such nonsense. Will any of those\u00a0arguments\u00a0hold up when we come face to face with Him?<\/span>

<\/span>
God didn\u2019t give up on me. What gives me the right to give up on them?\u00a0<\/span>

<\/span>
Care to comment?<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>

<\/span>
If you want to receive future posts in your in box, simply click here.<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Francis Thompson was a brilliant man. Born to successful parents, he first studied for the\u00a0priesthood then later earned a medical degree. His mind was engaging and captivating. He could write the most beautiful verse that touched on heartsHe was also an opium addict. Despite his privilege, his education and his ticket to wealth, his addiction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308,407,719,846],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-francis-thompson","category-hound-of-heaven","category-repentance","category-surrender"],"yoast_head":"\nHe won't give up on me, so how can I give up on you?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Francis Thompson was a brilliant man. 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