This morning I want to challenge you to see the film Chariots of Fire, from 1981. This is a film which has a lot to teach us about faith. It’s about two runners who participate in the Olympics in Paris in 1924. One is a Jew, the other is a Christian. It is a true story. It is the Christian, Eric Liddell, who captures my attention. At one point he says, «I want to compare faith to running in a race. It’s hard. It requires concentration of will, energy and soul». He is a man of high principle, whose motivation to run is «to feel the pleasure of God». The film shows the run-up to the Olympics in 1924. We see young men in their 20s, doing their best to prepare. To see the grit and the sweat on these young men; out training in all types of weather, tired, weary, but with their eyes on the goal – is truly inspiring! The scripture comes to me, which is quoted in the film:
“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31 KJV
Eric Liddell‘s faith and principles required sacrifice – not a popular word in all Christian quarters today; a reflection of the society we live in.
After the Olympics, Liddell became a missionary to China. He died during the Second World War in a Japanese civilian internment camp.
As Christians today, we need to be reminded of the principles and faith of people like this; and be inspired by them!😊👍
Seeing the film; reading about his life, will be a good backdrop to what I intend to write about in the coming week, plans I announced in my last blog post! The film is also great to see with someone – particularly if you want to talk about faith.
Lastly, a magnificent quote from Eric Liddell, when interviewed about his winning the gold; setting a new Olympic record time of 47.6 seconds.
He described his race plan:
“The secret of my success over the 400m is that I run the first 200m as fast as I can. Then, for the second 200m, with God’s help I run faster.” BBC
Here is a great Wikipedia article: Eric Liddell
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” Heb. 12:1