Eric Liddell didn't look much like a champion when he ran, and people mocked his strange running style. But he was the fastest runner in all of Scotland. he had become a national hero, and his countrymen waited with eager anticipation to see him compete at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, where Eric was expected to win the gold medal.
Eric did his best to win races, but he had a greater goal. Following his parents' example and God's call, he planned to be a missionary to China. Jesus was far more important to him than the Olympics.
As the time for the Olympics approached, Eric announced that he would not run the 100-meter sprint—his best event! The trials for the race were scheduled on Sunday. Eric had always set aside the Lord's Day for rest and worship. He felt it would dishonor the Lord to run on the Lord's Day, so he faced the monarch of Great Britain with his decision.
The people of Scotland were furious! Eric had crushed their hopes for a win for their country. It seemed to Scotland that Eric was disgracing his country and refusing victory, fame, and glory.
Instead of running in the 100-meter race, he competed in the 200-meter and 400-meter races, even though these had never been his best events. But he surprised the world by winning the gold medal and setting a new world record in the 400-meter event. He also won a bronze in the 200-meter.
Because he was a hero, people listened to Eric, and he used every opportunity to witness about his faith in Christ. He sacrificed his comfortable life in Scotland to serve, with his wife, as a missionary in China for 20 years. Then, as WWII reached them, Eric sacrificed the opportunity to leave China, staying instead to help the wounded and to share his faith. Eric died in China in 1945.
Eric Liddell was a man of sacrifice. He was willing to give up fame and glory to serve the Lord and tell others about his faith in Christ. At times he was even separated from his own wife and children, sending them to a safer place, in order to serve the wounded in China. We are called to be a living sacrifice and deny ourselves for the sake of following Jesus. When we sacrifice our earthly desires to glorify God, we can look forward to enjoying fellowship with Him for eternity.
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