I once had a colleague in ministry who liked to ask people, “Where are you seeing God in your life these days?” I always appreciated the question, and I could see how it made people pause and really think about their answer.

We can encounter God and his truth in many different ways—in his Word, through his creation, in prayer. There is no limit to how God can speak to us in our lives, but one of the ways I especially love is through literature.  Seeing Christ and Christian themes woven in the pages of literature, can invite us to deeper reflection.

The Bible, the best-selling book of all time, has also shaped art, culture, and literature throughout history. Its themes can be found in virtually every literary genre, across all time periods. 

Some works highlight these themes in obvious ways, while others invite us to dig a little deeper. We might think of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan or Milton’s Paradise Lost. Many readers find Christian themes in The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. One of the most familiar examples is Aslan, the lion in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, who represents Christ.

There is one work in particular that deeply resonates with me: The Hound of Heaven, a poem written by Francis Thompson in 1893.

Thompson led a tumultuous life. He entered a Catholic seminary and medical school but struggled in both. He moved to London to pursue a career in writing, but soon became addicted to opium and found himself living on the streets. His life was turned around when Wilfrid and Alice Meynell, Christians and editors of the literary magazine Merry England, found him. They not only published some of his work, but also helped him recover from addiction and rebuild his life.

In The Hound of Heaven, Thompson portrays Christ as the “hound of heaven,” one whose relentless love always seeks us, no matter how much we ignore him or run in the opposite direction. Even as we chase after what we think we want, he continues to pursue us, for only he can satisfy the hunger of our souls. The poem is a profound study of God’s grace.

It reflects Thompson’s own journey and, perhaps, ours as well. It begins with these words:

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 midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

The writer speaks of seeking all manner of things in his life, except the one who seeks him, and he writes:

Still with unhurrying chase, And unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, Came on the following Feet,   And a Voice above their beat—
‘Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me.’

The poem concludes with the Hound—God in Christ—finally catching up with the person, saying to him:

‘Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.’

That final line, “Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me”, reflects, in Thompson’s 19th century style, the idea of driving love away—the very love that seeks to restore and redeem.

Much like the Good Shepherd in Jesus’ parable, who leaves the ninety-nine to find the lost sheep, God leaves no stone unturned in seeking us. No matter how far we run or how much we try to satisfy our hearts with other things, he knows what will truly fulfill our deepest desires and our real need. 

He seeks us. Even as we seek our own way, he is still seeking us. God is love; God is grace; God is what our hearts ultimately yearn for. And through it all, he seeks us – relentlessly seeks us.

PS – A  copy of the complete work can be found here:  http://www.houndofheaven.com/poem