1988 summer Olympics. Seoul, South Korea. Eight men started the race. Only seven finished. British 400-meter runner Derek Redmond had to quit because of an injury to his Achilles tendon. The pain in his heart was greater than the pain in his leg as he watched his seven fellow Olympians cross the finish line. Like countless young athletes, Derek had dreamed of Olympic gold. Unlike most, Derek actually had the talent to win it.
Stubbornly refusing to let a torn Achilles rob him of his lifelong dream, the young runner set his sights on the 1992 Barcelona Games. Four more years of training. Four more years of hard work. Four more years dreaming of the gold.
By 1991, Derek was back to world-class speed, leading his team to an upset victory in the 4 x 400-meter relay in the World Championships.
Another year and his Olympic dream could become reality.
1992 summer Olympics. Barcelona, Spain. Derek Redmond is again lined up with seven others in the 400 meters. Four years before, he started the race but couldn’t finish. This time, he is a heavy favorite not just to finish but to win a medal, possibly a gold.
Derek’s dad and number one fan, Jim Redmond, is among the 100,000 spectators in the stands that day.
The starter fires his gun. Derek has one of the best starts of his career. Approaching the halfway mark, however, he hears a strange “pop.” Disaster strikes again. As he crashes to the track with a torn hamstring, seven men fly past him, racing for his medal.
In a few seconds, the race is over. The cheering has stopped and all eyes are now on Derek Redmond, who has managed to pull himself up from the track and, despite the pain, is slowly hobbling toward the finish line.
Suddenly, a man breaks past the security guards and leaps onto the track. He sprints past the medics who have been trying in vain to get Derek to lie down on their stretcher. As he catches up with the injured Olympian, the injured sprinter melts into his arms.
After a brief conversation, Derek continues his struggle to finish the last fifty meters of the race—now with two strong arms and two healthy legs supporting him. Finally, Derek and the man cross the finish line together, setting the record for the slowest 400-meter time in the history of the Olympics. But that didn’t stop the 100,000 fans from standing to their feet and giving the greatest applause of the whole 1992 Games.
Who was the man and what was that brief conversation all about? The man was Jim Redmond, Derek’s dad. Here’s how the conversation went.
“Look, son, you don’t have to do this.”
Despite the pain, Derek responded: “Yes, I do.”
“Well, if you are going to finish this race, we’ll finish it together.”
With those words, Jim helped his son finish the race.
The Christian life is a race. Many start out like a champion and with dreams of victory, only to suffer injury along the way. They stumble and fall flat on their faces. Many of the fallen and injured are determined to get up and finish. But the pain is too great. Besides, everyone else is so far ahead.
If you’ve fallen in the race of life, if you’ve been injured along the way, if you feel like everyone is way ahead and you’re being left behind, if you are determined to cross that finish line no matter how much it hurts, then I’ve got good news for you.
As soon as you scrape yourself off the ground and “set your face like flint” to the finish line, as soon as you start putting one foot in front of the others, then Someone makes His way through the crowd of spectators and jumps out of the bleachers on to the track.
This Man breaks through the demonic security guards the devil has stationed to make sure you don’t finish. He sprints past the stretcher carriers who tell you if it hurts too much, you can just lie down and quit.
If you will only get up and refuse to quit, He will wrap His big arms around you and say: “Son, if you are determined to finish this race, then let’s finish together.” Then, He makes sure you finish the race.
Acts 20:24 says, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
