Chariots of Fire

Posted on September 10, 2007
Filed Under Movies |

I watched this movie for the first time a few weeks ago. What a great story! This Academy Award winning movie tells the story of a Scottish missionary and a Jewish Cambridge student whose motives and problems are explored during the 1924 Olympics in Paris. One of the classic lines in the movie was from Eric Liddell:

God made me for a purpose…for China. But he also made me fast and when I run I feel his pleasure. To give up would be to hold him in contempt. It is not just for fun. To win is to honor him.

And from his coach and trainer:

Run in God’s name and let the world stand back and wonder.

Can we compete in sports in such a way that we feel the joy of God? Can we go all out on the ball fields in the pursuit of having fun or even winning that still honors him? The life of Eric Liddell seems to testify as a yes! The key question is how?

Using our gifts to run or what ever we desire to do, competitively or recreationally, is not a bad thing but a God given thing. God has gifted many with athletic abilities and desires, and when they use them and use them well He is pleased. To not use our gifts on the highest competitive level, in sports outreach, or even in a friendly pick-up game is to dishonor him.

Run for fun and even to win because you will feel the joy of God. However, balance is key in checking our motives in sports and in not forgetting about China either.

C.Harv

Comments

One Response to “Chariots of Fire”

  1. PopsNo Gravatar on September 13th, 2007 2:35 pm

    Hey, bubba,
    When I went to St. Andrews for the Open, I took pictures where they filmed this movie on St. Andrews bay. My friend and I took pictures of each other running on the beach. Remember the scene from the movie?

    Love,

    Pops

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