Life Lessons From Chariots of Fire

guest writer
Adam Lustig

He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 29-31

I just finished watching the 1981 Oscar-winning film from England, "Chariots of Fire", on Turner Classic Chanel. Chariots is on my top 5 list of the best movies of all time. Not so much for the acting, cinematography, or directing, those are excellent but for the message it conveys.

For those of you who have not seen this masterpiece, it is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics in Paris.  Eric Henry Liddell also known as the "Flying Scotsman" is a devout Christian who runs to honor God and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.

There are two amazing scenes that are God sent to the film which are true. Kudos to the writer for adding them to the film. One is the conversation Eric had with his sister while he was a student at Cambridge, and the other is the conversation he had with the future King of England at the Olympic games.

Eric Liddell's sister could not understand why he would not give up running, and not return to China to minister with her and their parents to which he tells her;

“I believe God made me for a purpose — for China — but he also made me fast.
And when I run I feel His pleasure. … To win is to honor Him.” Eric Liddell, Chariots of Fire

Eric Liddell found out that he was to run the 100 meter dash on a Sunday, and the future King of England could not understand why he would not run to honor his king and country, to which boldly he answered the future King;

"God created countries and Kings to honor Him and the Sabbath is His"

There are stories in the many books that have been written about the "Flying Scotsman", and how he would tilt his head skyward as he flew around the track in an expression of praise to our Heavenly Father.

Each of us who live on this sphere we call earth have different bents in life towards different skills and professions but God created us for His purpose and to honor Him within our profession, or passion, until He calls us home. Our problem, and its part of the humanness that God created us with, is that we put ourselves in a box, and demean ourselves because we think we can't can't accomplish anything for God's kingdom.

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3

Ladies and gentlemen if that were the case, God would not have left us here after our conversion, but instead would have taken us home to be with Him. God is counting on you and I to make a difference in this world with the gifts He has given us. The apostle Paul, in his joy letter to the church at Philippi, said this:

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,  for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ"
Philippians 3:8

Eric Liddell looked at his life in this way. He had everything this life could offer in the Europe of the 1920s. A pristine education that was only given to the elite of his day.  Cambridge/Oxford was the Creme de la Creme of European learning, and accomplishing Olympic Gold is something only a few ever achieve in their lifetime. Yet he chose the humble life of a missionary to China which would cost him his life. Numerous times he had the chance to leave the Japanese internment camp where he was being held choosing only to give his release to other people in the camp.

Even when Winston Churchill was able to intervene on his behalf for the release his body, ravaged with malnutrition and ill health, he refused to leave. Instead giving his spot to a pregnant woman in the camp in a prisoner exchange.

Than on February of 1945, just a few months before his camp was liberated, he passed away probably from a brain tumor that no one knew he had. There is a famous quote by another missionary, Jim Elliot, who also lost his life on the mission field, that exemplified Eric Liddell's life:

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot loose."

We may never have to give our life for our Heavenly Father as Eric Liddell did, but we can honor and glorify our Heavenly Father each day in all that we do.

Thanks for Listening