(2 Corinthians 8:10 MSG)
So here’s what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart has been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go for it. The Olympic Games are often remembered for world records, gold medals, and historic victories. But sometimes, the most powerful moments are not about winning at all. They are about something more profound: resilience, heart, and the unbreakable bond between a father and his son. On a warm evening in Barcelona in 1992, a young British runner named Derek Redmond stepped onto the track for the 400-meter semifinals. He had trained for years, overcome injuries, and sacrificed so much. This was his moment. The race began, and he was running strong. Then, at the 250-meter mark, it happened—his hamstring tore. In an instant, his dream was shattered.
He collapsed onto the track in agony. The pain was overwhelming. But it wasn’t just the physical pain—it was the pain of knowing that the dream he had worked for all his life had just slipped through his fingers. Medics rushed toward him, but he waved them off. He would not leave that track on a stretcher. He was going to finish.
And so, he rose to his feet, his face twisted in pain, his steps unsteady. He hobbled forward, each movement a battle against the agony tearing through his leg.
The crowd of 65,000 watched in silence—watching not an athlete now but a human being fighting against the cruelest twist of fate.
Then, from the stands, a man pushed past security and ran onto the track. It was Jim Redmond—Derek’s father. He wrapped his arms around his son, steadying him. Security tried to stop him, “Sir, he cannot win…the others have already crossed the line.” But Jim wouldn’t have it.
“Leave him alone,” he said. “We’re going to make it across that finish line. And to his son, he said, “This is not about them, this is about you ..… We’re going to finish what we started if it takes us all night.”
And so, together, father and son took those final, painful steps. The stadium erupted in cheers—not for a victory or a gold medal but for something far more significant—the triumph of the human spirit.
Derek Redmond didn’t win that race, but at that moment, he became a symbol of resilience, courage, and the power of never giving up. His father had taught him to finish, and in doing so, he taught the world a lesson. Because life, my friends, is not just about how fast we run or how high we climb. It’s about how we rise when we fall. It’s about the people who stand beside us when we are at our lowest. It’s about finishing—no matter how broken, no matter how painful, no matter how impossible it seems.
Derek Redmond may not have won Olympic gold that day, but he won something more significant: our hearts. He showed us that medals don’t measure true victory—it is measured by the strength it takes to stand up, keep going, and finish what we started.
Psalm 138:7
When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. Strike my foes with one hand; save me with your other. Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal – don’t quit on me now.
Proverbs 24:16
For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
