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Hebrews 12:1–17

11/21/2012

 
Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Run the Race
Eric Liddell
The Eighth Olympiad of modern times began on July 5, 1924, and was held in the city of Paris, France. Over forty-five countries were represented, and the stadium swelled to a crowd of 60,000 spectators. Among the competitors from Great Britain, Eric Liddell, a Scot with wings on his feet, had come under the shadow of controversy. As a Christian, Liddell held the conviction that he should not run on Sunday, which he considered the Sabbath. Months before the Olympic games Liddell informed Great Britain’s Olympic committee that he would not be able to participate in the preliminary heat for the hundred-meter run. As the Olympics drew near, the criticism of Liddell’s “fanaticism” increased, but he doggedly refused. As Harold Abrahams ran the hundred-meter preliminary, Eric Liddell preached to a congregation in the Scots Kirk in another part of Paris. Abrahams went on to win the final in that race and set a world record that would stand for fifty-six years.
    On the following Tuesday, Liddell and Abrahams both qualified for a place in the two hundred-meter final, to be held on the following day. Eric became the first Scot ever to bring home a medal in that race, winning the bronze. No one from Great Britain had ever placed higher. Eric went on to compete in the four hundred-meter race, joining runners from Canada, United States, and a fellow Briton named Guy Butler in the final. Just prior to the race Liddell went down the line, shaking his competitors’ hands in a ritual that he had made familiar over time. At the gun Eric bolted into a three-meter lead. As the race progressed, Fitch, the American, began to close in on the Scot, but Liddell increased his speed. As he crossed the finish line with a five-meter lead, his head cocked back and arms flailing the air, Eric brought home the gold medal. After an explosive roar from the British spectators, a hush finally fell over the crowd as they waited for the official time. The cheers erupted again as it was announced that Eric Liddell had set a new world record of 47.6 seconds.
    Eric Liddell was a sprinter as an Olympian, but the young believer from Scotland, just twenty-two years of age during the Eighth Olympiad, provides a powerful example of one who ran the Christian race with a marathoner’s endurance. Based on his commitment to Christ, he “threw off” the opinions of both the general public and the powerful, giving up the opportunity for glory in the hundred meters, a race for which he had trained for years. Liddell endured not only in the months prior to the Olympic games, but afterward embarked on a career as a missionary to China, where he died eventually in a Chinese prison. His life evidenced a long-term focus on Christ as his reference point. In all things he took his cues from the Lord Jesus, who was his example, sustainer, and guide. Because he had thrown off hindrances to his spiritual race and had chosen a path of perseverance, Liddell had a clear view of Christ and his call, and he abides as a strong example of the Christian life lived nobly.
   
    As we look to those like Eric Liddell, who looked to Christ for how they should run the race of life, we should reflect on what we need to “throw off.” There may be encumbrances that are not bad or sinful in and of themselves but should be evaluated in light of their effect on our running the race. Certain possessions, hobbies, patterns of life, or even people can occupy us in a way so as to cool our hearts to Christ.
    Reading the newspaper or watching a television program, for example, may be minor considerations unless they distract us constantly from reflection on God’s Word or reading edifying literature. An unmarried person may take great pleasure in the company of a new romance, but such a relationship must be weighed in light of its effect on one’s Christian commitment. A sport such as golf might be a source of physical exercise and fellowship but can also cause a person to neglect his or her family. We should assess how we are responding to the pull of popularity, position, or place in our given life occupations—none necessarily bad inherently, but potentially stunting to spiritual development if they are out of line in what should be Christian priorities."
[1]


[1] George Guthrie, Hebrews, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 410-11.
Andrei
11/21/2012 08:55:14 pm

Thinking about Baywatch's Sunday school lessons about 'dying to oneself...' I guess we can only do things like Liddell if we really desire to know Christ above everything else?

Kevin Kuo
11/22/2012 06:55:54 pm

Liddell's passion was running but he made a conscious decision to run in reverence to God. Some pragmatists or misguided Christians would say that running has no practical or heavenly value. I am sure there were Christians who would have said forsake your desire to run and go spread the Gospel all the years he was training. I believe it's not so much your own personal desire that dictates what you can do for God but more what God has planned for you. There are plenty of people who I would consider to be people constantly doing God's work in the mission field but they will hardly leave a lasting historical footnote like Liddell. This of course does not diminish e importance of what they are doing though. Faith like Lindell's example is one to inspire us to challenge conventional wisdom but it is not intended to give us a false understanding that if we do it for God then we will naturally succeed even if we didn't train for it. It's like taking an exam that you did not ever study for and expecting to do well on it simply because you think you want to give God the glory. Believers that have done great things for God, I believe never set out with a goal of doing something for God's glory rather in what they were convicted of being right. David did not slay Goliath to seek glory for God specifically but was more to stand up to what Goliath represented, utter rebellion against God. While David never trained to kill a man in combat he trained to kill predators with great speed and efficiency as a shepherd and it was this skill and his willingness to rise to the call in a time God appointed that permitted David to do what he did. So do not be dismayed that because you think your desire to know Christ some how limits or empowers you to do great things for God. Great things that have been done that gave God glory is usually never by human design but by God's. So in all that you do give it your 100% don't cut corners in your profession. Don't bait and switch, what glory is it to God if you are a successful CEO of a Fortune 500 that donates millions to Christian charities if the money was obtained through less than ethical but not illegal means? We cannot all be heroes for God and I believe that all the more we seek to be one all the more God will put us in our place. We all have a part to play and as long as we do that part in reverence to God we need not have this fear that we are not living for God.

Greg
11/27/2012 03:48:23 am

I'm a little confused too, but I think the most important thing to remember and what I think that you're trying to get across is "You don't get to decide if you're a hero". People live faithful lives to God all over the world, but few are known. God chooses who He will use specially for His purposes, and often they are very imperfect people. This brings into even sharper contrast GOD'S faithfulness and love to use imperfect people to bring His perfect plan into reality.

Greg
11/27/2012 03:46:05 am

I didn't put a note about it, but most (including me) actually wouldn't agree with Liddell's view of the Sabbath and running on Sunday. The important lesson from him isn't "Don't run on Sunday", but "Do all things for the glory of God". We've talked a lot about that on the blog, so I'll leave it at that.

Kevin Kuo
11/29/2012 02:53:38 pm

Yes pastor Greg thank you for clarifying my rather verbose post. Being up at 3 am is unusual for me. I guess that is probably why it's not as terse as it should be. But yes we don't get to choose to be a hero.

Kevin
11/25/2012 04:01:12 pm

Thanks for the response Kevin. I'm a little bit confused, but I'll follow up with you sometime in the future, appreciate it.

Kevin Kuo
11/29/2012 03:18:20 pm

Sorry about the confusion pastor Greg summed it up pretty well. I made a slip up on the post with the David and Goliath analogy, feel free to deposit that into the circular file. I guess I should have prefaced that by saying when he was asked to bring food to his brothers, he wasn't looking for a fight with Goliath. He was doing what was asked of him. Winning a great victory for God was not on his mind. However he quickly changes tune of how he responds to instructions after he goes to the camp.

greg
11/30/2012 03:34:56 am

Thanks for the correction!

Andrei
11/27/2012 04:44:02 pm

Ohh word, that point about not getting to choose if you're hero helps... thanks...


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