The Day a Father Ran Onto the Track

Derek Redmond had trained for years for this moment. As the gun fired at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the British sprinter shot out of the blocks in the 400-meter semifinal — one of the fastest men in the world, finally healthy after a string of injuries that had derailed his career. Then, 150 meters from the finish line, his right hamstring snapped. He crumpled to the track.

What happened next became one of the most watched moments in Olympic history. Derek refused to be carried off. He rose, tears streaming down his face, and began hobbling toward the finish line — slowly, painfully, one agonizing step at a time. Then a man broke through security and wrapped his arm around the wounded athlete. It was Jim Redmond, Derek's father. "You don't have to do this," Jim told him. "Yes, I do," Derek said. And together — father and son — they crossed the finish line while 65,000 people stood and wept.

That image is a picture of faith in its truest form. Faith is not the assurance that we will never fall. It is the conviction that we are not running alone. The writer of Hebrews urges us to run with endurance the race that is set before us — and he points us not to our own strength, but to Jesus, who has already run the course and now walks alongside us in our limping.

You may be 150 meters from the finish, and your legs may be giving out. Look up. Your Father is already running toward you.