A Father Who Wouldn't Let Him Fall

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal with everything he had trained for within reach. Halfway around the track, his hamstring snapped. He crumpled to the ground in agony while the other runners crossed the finish line without him.

What happened next became one of the most replayed moments in Olympic history. Derek pulled himself up and began hopping toward the finish line, tears streaming down his face. Then a large man in a T-shirt pushed past security and ran onto the track. It was Jim Redmond — Derek's father. He wrapped his arm around his son's waist and said, "We're going to finish this together." The crowd of 65,000 rose to their feet as father and son crossed the finish line arm in arm.

Jim Redmond didn't care about the rules. He didn't care about the officials waving him off. He saw his child suffering, and nothing on earth was going to keep him from getting to his son's side.

That is the love the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 8 — a love from which nothing can separate us. Not injury, not failure, not the distance between the stands and the track. Our Heavenly Father does not watch our suffering from a distance. He pushes past every barrier to reach us, wraps His arms around us, and whispers, "We're going to finish this together."

No matter what has torn you down this week, you are not finishing alone.