Dear Friends

This year, for the third time in history, Paris is hosting the Olympics. The last time the Olympics were in Paris was 1924, immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire – telling of the sporting rivalry between Scotsman, Eric Liddell, a devout Christian who ran for the glory of God, and Englishman, Harold Abrahams, a Jew who ran to overcome prejudice. They were both selected for the 100m race but things did not turn out that way!

When Eric discovered that the 100m heats were to be held on a Sunday, he refused to run, believing it wrong to compete on the Sabbath. To make his point, he preached from Isaiah 40:21-31 in the Paris Church of Scotland on the day of the 100m heats.

‘Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for 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 40:30,31)

Although 100m was Eric’s best event, he switched to the 400m. When asked about his tactics in the longer race, Eric replied,

‘I run the first 200 metres as fast as I can. Then, for the second 200 metres, with God's help, I run faster.’

It worked, Eric won the Gold medal, setting new Olympic and World records of 47.6 seconds! It seems God really did give him ‘wings of eagles’ that day, he ran and was not weary.

Eric could have reaped the rewards of Olympic success and fame, but he did not. Having achieved his personal goal of Olympic gold, he submitted to God’s call on his life, becoming a missionary in China in 1925: teaching maths and science, giving pupils athletics training, and teaching in Sunday School.

With the outbreak of the WW2, life in China became dangerous due to Japanese aggression, and Eric’s wife Florence (pregnant with their third daughter Maureen) and the couple’s two older daughters, Patricia and Heather, went to live with relatives in Canada, while Eric stayed to continue his work.

After the Japanese invasion, Eric was placed in an internment camp, where he helped the elderly, taught science and Bible classes and arranged games for the children, who referred to him as ‘Uncle Eric’. He died just months before the end of the war from an undiagnosed brain tumour, overwork and malnourishment. His life mirroring the Apostle Paul’s words,

‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’

(2 Timothy 4:7)

Many blessings,

Carl

‘If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.’

'The greatest victory is not in winning races, but in overcoming obstacles, breaking down barriers and pushing through limitations.' (Eric Liddell).