In another FAST Blast, I’ve revisited the extraordinary Olympic story of Derek Redmond. Let’s re-revisit this real-life tale…
Redmond’s experience bears an amazing resemblance to the message of the Christian faith. Many see his poignant Olympic moment as a living parable of compassion and redemption in the wake of broken dreams.
Yet there’s a counterpoint that can be expressed in the following questions: Does Redmond’s remarkable story point to the existence of a caring God — or the reality of a capricious deity? Or does the story perhaps show God isn’t there at all?
In other words, what does a world full of suffering say about the existence of a loving God? Can God’s existence be reconciled with so-called meaningless suffering? If not, does the reality of suffering dismiss God from the worldview conversation like a bouncer at a nightclub?
Let’s examine these counterpoint questions — but first, a refresher: Due to an injury, British sprinter Derek Redmond was unable to compete in the 400-meter dash at the 1988 Olympics. After rehabbing, he ran at the ’92 Games and reached the semifinals, except during his semi he pulled a hamstring — and felt the familiar heartache of watching his Olympic dream die again. But Redmond decided to finish. As he hobbled around the track, a man descended from the stands, placed his arm around Derek’s shoulders, and helped him complete his 400-meter odyssey.
The man was Derek’s Dad.
One perspective on this scene: What a moving picture of a father’s compassion for his son, a la the parable of the prodigal.
Another perspective: Wait, why would a loving God allow his son to become injured? Isn’t God great enough to prevent such needless pain?
I confess, these questions register with me. They can be compelling … and so can investment experts who are actually con men (think: Bernie Madoff).
Madoff orchestrated what has been called the largest Ponzi scheme ever, a reported $50 billion fraud. A former official with the NASDAQ Stock Market, Madoff was a trusted member of the investment industry for decades.
Just before FBI agents arrested him in December 2008, Madoff told them: “It’s all just one big lie.”
As we contemplate these age-old questions about God and suffering, Madoff’s confession illuminates a key issue, which can be phrased as a further question: What’s the truth about where we humans can best invest our lives and time and resources and trust?
And who’s telling the truth about what the best investment is?
(True, that isn’t one further question, but two — what can I say, I majored in English, not math. OK, perhaps that isn’t the optimal joke in view of Madoff’s financial-math fraud — and if you say the joke isn’t especially funny? Well, what can I say…)
Perhaps it appears I’ve gone far afield of Derek Redmond’s story, but since all life is intertwined, I see a connection.
Two decades ago I saw a breathtaking resonance between the Redmonds’ father-son redemption on the Olympic stage and the love of God as expressed in the incarnation.
The counterpoint to that proclamation says: Not so fast. If God is truly loving, why do human beings suffer? Yes, a heroic rescue is heartwarming — but couldn’t a powerful and caring God have prevented the pain that made the rescue necessary?
This counterpoint reflects, naturally, the classic “problem of suffering.” Contemplating the problem cuts to the heart of the human condition and can result in honest reflection about life and faith.
Yet in the context of Redmond’s injury and Madoff’s deception, is the counterpoint — at its worst — a counterfeit?
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The God depicted in Scripture is, safe to say, no stranger to suffering. At this season of the church year we cannot escape this gut-wrenching reality: The Good Friday cross is the only steppingstone to Easter. That’s the paradoxical heart of the New Testament gospel.
So while we ask the old question — why does God subject humans to suffering? — let’s not miss its companion questions: Why does God suffer? Why does God subject Himself to suffering?
In a word, it appears the answer is: LOVE.
God suffers so much because He loves so much — and desires our love so much (see: the greatest commandment). When He chose to create humans in His image, we could choose to either love God or leave Him — with the latter causing Him heartache and anger and anguish.
To God, apparently the risk is worth the reward.
More than one Michael Kelly Blanchard song dovetails with this human-and-divine-suffering topic. For now, let’s consider “The Broken God”:
Didn’t see you there — didn’t know You were weeping too.
I think of tears as a human wound.
Though, of course, You care — You have shown you were human too.
They say You cried at Lazarus’ tomb.
I was unaware how it is with a broken God.
I thought of You as above my pain.
Lost in my despair — so it is with a broken heart.
I never dreamed You could feel the same.
Once, in a magazine I saw a face…
Some sad refugee from some sad place,
In those eyes the sorrows of our race —
Now I see this simply was the face of God…
Your face, dear God.
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The psalmist says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted.”
Why?
I believe it’s because, more than anyone else in the universe, God knows what it’s like to be brokenhearted.
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P.S. Regarding Derek Redmond’s hamstring, please don’t misunderstand: I’m not saying a pulled muscle is in the same ballpark — or even the same hemisphere — as the suffering endured during the Holocaust or under apartheid or on 9/11. Rather, Redmond’s injury serves as a metaphor from the world of sports for the suffering we experience in the world at large.
• Michael Kelly Blanchard — The Broken God via YouTube
Information and reporting from various media outlets were used in this article.
© Bruce William Deckert 2013 – updated and slightly revised 2024
A Slow Life in the FAST Lane 