The Hymn Born From a Broken Heart

On the evening of June 6, 1882, Scottish pastor George Matheson sat alone in his manse while his sister's wedding celebration carried on without him. Matheson was nearly blind, and according to tradition, years earlier his fiancée had broken their engagement when she learned his condition was permanent. Now, as his sister left to begin her new life, the old grief returned with fresh force.

In that moment of aloneness, Matheson did not write a poem about heartbreak. He wrote a hymn about a love that refused to quit on him. In five minutes, the words poured out: "O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee."

What strikes me is the direction of that lyric. Matheson had been let go — by his fiancée, by his fading sight, by the life he had imagined. But he discovered a Love moving in the opposite direction, a Love that tightened its grip precisely when everything else released its hold.

The Apostle Paul knew this same Love. "Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

Human love, at its best, is still conditional — it depends on what we can offer. But the love of the Almighty is most fierce when we have nothing left to give. That is the Love that will not let you go.