He pulled his hat down a bit more to shield the hot summer sun, then held his program guide up to block the light as he squinted his eyes to catch a glimpse of his son. “There he is!,” he shouted. Pride filled Jim Redmond’s heart as he watched his son Derek, who was preparing to run the 400 meter event in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Butterflies filled Jim’s stomach as he watched the runners take to their starting blocks. “Bang!” They were off. Derek was looking good. He was fast, real fast. In fact, he was the favorite to win. But suddenly he heaved upward and halted out of his stride. Grabbing the back of his right leg in obvious pain he fell to the ground. After sitting for a moment crouched down on the track, Derek managed to get to his feet and begin to hobble forward on the track. But the pain was too much. The announcers told their listeners it was over for Derek.
Jim Redmond could not watch his son from a distance any longer. He pushed his way out on the track. The security tried to stop him but he shouted, “That’s my son out there and I’m going to help him!” The security yielded and Jim was able to make it to his son who was now crying in agony.
“I’m here, son,” Jim said to Derek. “We’ll finish together.”
No medals were won, no records broken, but 80,000 people cheered as a father helped his son cross the finish line.
There’s another moment in time when a father broke through and expressed is love and support for his son. But rather than in a stadium filled with people, it was in a dusty little valley in northern Israel. Jesus had made his way to the Jordan river to be baptized by John the Baptist. And as he came up out of the water the Bible records this,
“Then the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:
‘You are my Son, who I love; and with whom I am well pleased.’”
Imagine hearing that! No really, imagine you’re hearing that right now, because this your heavenly father’s heart for you. He is not a stoic, distant, uncaring God who is idly watching you. On the contrary, the race you’re in has brought him to his feet, and he and the stadium of heaven is shouting and cheering for you. Your heavenly father is pressing past anything or anyone trying to stop him to get to and tell you,
“You’re mine. I love you. I’m proud of you. And we’re going to finish this race together!”
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