The Father Who Came Down From the Stands

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal carrying years of injury and setback. He had already missed the 1988 Seoul Games after surgery just ten days before his race. Barcelona was supposed to be his moment of vindication.

Coming off the back stretch, Redmond was running strong. Then his hamstring snapped. He crumpled to the track, clutching his leg, as the other runners disappeared toward the finish line. Medical staff rushed toward him with a stretcher, but Redmond refused it. He stood up and began hopping toward the finish, each step a portrait of agony.

Then something happened that 65,000 spectators would never forget. A 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 shoulder and said, "We're going to finish this together." And they did. Father and son crossed that line as one, the crowd rising to its feet in tears.

That is the gospel in running shoes. We are all Derek Redmond — broken mid-race, unable to finish on our own strength. And the God of all grace does what Jim Redmond did. The Almighty does not watch our collapse from a distance. He comes down. He enters the track. He puts His arm around us and says, "We will finish this together."

Redemption is never a solo effort. It is the Father who refuses to let us crawl alone.