{"id":1218,"date":"2012-07-26T20:51:29","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T20:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/hobbling-toward-the-finish-or-barcelona-a-cosmic-cop\/"},"modified":"2014-07-17T03:20:46","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T03:20:46","slug":"hobbling-toward-the-finish-or-barcelona-a-cosmic-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/hobbling-toward-the-finish-or-barcelona-a-cosmic-cop\/","title":{"rendered":"Hobbling Toward the Finish or: Barcelona, a Cosmic Cop, and the Eye of Sauron"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

That video gets me every time. I posted it to my Facebook timeline a few days ago, commenting that we should all have a daddy like Derek Redmond\u2019s dad. One of the favorites to medal in the 400 meters at the 1992 Olympic Games, Redmond tore his hamstring halfway through his semi-final race. Clearly in pain, Redmond refused the stretcher-bearers and hobbled toward the finish, determined to complete the distance under his own power.<\/p>\n

The man who comes to Redmond\u2019s aid, despite attempts by security to deter him, is Derek\u2019s father, Jim. In a touching act of solidarity and support, Jim helps his son get across the finish line. The part that chokes me up the most is the moment when Derek puts his head on his dad\u2019s shoulder and weeps. His father responds by putting his son\u2019s arm around him and they\u00a0<\/span>keep moving forward<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t wanna get all \u201cFootprints in the Sand\u201d on you, but that\u2019s some touching stuff. Do you know\u00a0<\/span>why<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>I think that video gets to me? It\u2019s not because that\u2019s the kind of relationship I want with my dad (I already have that), nor is it because it reminds me of the kind of relationship I have with God. No. It\u2019s because\u00a0<\/span>it reminds me of the relationship I\u00a0<\/span>want to have<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>with God, but feel like I don\u2019t have<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That probably requires some explanation.<\/p>\n

Much of my life I\u2019ve grown up with a mental image of God that resembles a Cosmic Cop, at best. If I manage to mind my manners, do right by God and others, the Cosmic Cop will always be there in my time of need. If I\u2019m bad, however, it\u2019s only a matter of time before the Cosmic Cop shows up to dispense some sort of equalizing justice. In such a relationship, I only initiate communication when I need something and any contact initiated from the Cosmic Cop must mean something bad happened (or soon will).\u00a0<\/span>When was the last time that a cop came to your door or stopped you on the road to tell you something good?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cop\"<\/p>\n

At worst, though, my image of God is more like Tolkien\u2019s Eye of Sauron. I imagine God searching my life and actions for the slightest bobble, always watching, always seeing, always knowing, never approving. Neither of these images do much to evoke worship and trust, do they?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So why write this? Because I think that there are some of you out there, dear readers, who have the same kinds of misgivings about your relationship with God. Maybe you, like me, watch that video and\u00a0<\/span>long for a relationship with God<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>that looks like that. Instead, you find yourself more likely to ask the kind of questions in Scattered Trees\u2019 song \u201cI Swear to God\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

via\u00a0<\/span>soundcloud.com<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cPlease do not destroy us
I believe in You, I swear to God
Please do not destroy us \u2026
Where are you, Jesus?
Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, if that\u2019s you, I just want you to know that\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m with you<\/strong>. I believe the images that have dominated my view of God are twisted. But knowing that, knowing that there\u2019s more truth in Jim Redmond as a portrait of God than in the Eye of Sauron, does little to help me shake them.<\/p>\n

Maybe we can help each other build better internal libraries of images and metaphors\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because right now, I feel like\u00a0<\/span>I’m just hobbling toward the finish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

(Neat little footnote: Jim Redmond was\u00a0<\/span>selected to carry the Olympic torch<\/a>\u00a0during the relay for this summer\u2019s games in London.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That video gets me every time. I posted it to my Facebook timeline a few days ago, commenting that we should all have a daddy like Derek Redmond\u2019s dad. One of the favorites to medal in the 400 meters at the 1992 Olympic Games, Redmond tore his hamstring halfway through his semi-final race. Clearly in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-1218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","cohort-lgp1"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1243,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions\/1243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}