We have all seen different pictures of Jesus. Down through the years I can remember Salman’s head of Christ, which is perhaps the first picture close to identifying Him as a Middle Eastern man, although somewhat sanitized. We have seen Him in pictures as standing with His back to us knocking on the door. We have seen Him in various perspectives as a shepherd: looking for sheep; standing with a shepherd’s hook; carrying a sheep; even having one draped over His shoulders. I’ve seen Him depicted as reaching over a cliff to rescue a sheep stuck on a ledge. We like the pictures of Jesus as a shepherd. They are “happy” and “safe.”
In 1981 the Christian band, Daniel Amos, wrote a song called The Hound of Heaven. It found its inspiration from a poem written by Francis Thompson, which depicted Jesus pursuing us like a hound. The words to the chorus were: “You can’t run, you can’t hide from the Hound of Heaven/You’re free to choose, can you refuse the Seeker of Souls?” The song emphasized the empty pursuits we often find ourselves in, while the poem emphasized a man running from God in order to maintain the pleasure of his life and God pursuing him. Here is the link to the song (Lyrics included) https://youtu.be/v38F6-N8mrg?si=4IVlJYtJiibLDlHL
My sermon Sunday is entitled The Watcher and will on “I AM the Good Shepherd.” After last week’s snow event and this week’s frigid temps (it was -7 Wednesday morning) I’m hoping for a heat wave! 🙂 Please join us in person at 9 and 10:45 or via live stream at the same times. Please join us online at YouTube (Owen Valley Christian Fellowship) or on our Facebook page (Owen Valley Christian Fellowship-Spencer, IN).
The image of Jesus pursuing us is a powerful one, Bill. I’d never heard of this band nor the song, so I took a moment to listen. How can we resist the seeker of souls? Hope all goes well for you and OVCF this Sunday!
Blessings!
I hope to convey that this Sunday, Martha. Thanks for listening to the song. They were actually one of my favorite bands w-a-a-a-a-y back. 🙂
Praying for a warmer, even slightly, and less snowy Sunday.
Though, the music was not my cup o’ tea… The fact that Jesus pursues us like a hound is not wrong.
The fact that we often are running to pursue our own desires… without debate.
Praying your message hits home and that all who hear it are impacted to pursue Jesus.
Thanks for the comment Ryan but most of all thanks for the prayers. It is supposed to be cold but not snowing. We can do that! As for the song, it was a long time ago and well….
I’m freezing in Las Vegas 49-65 degrees. I can’t even imagine IN. (Yes, I have seen snow, and even though it’s pretty, I don’t like it) But I can say the same about feeling the heat! 🙂
That song sounds a lot like it inspired “Carry On Wayward Son.”
There are a lot of people experiencing cold and snow for the first time or for a long time. I’ll take the 49-65! Wayward Son by inspired by the Book of Urantia unfortunately. But it was shortly after that Kerry Livgren became a follower of Christ.