The Beijing Olympics is a reminder of the first China-born gold medalist...Eric Leddell. Here is the wikipedia bio on him. If you haven't watched the movie Chariots of Fire, its worth seeing to get an idea of how the Spirit of God was in this man and his humbleness. Especially after reading stories of athletes over the last week or so of sore loser athletes, its a breath of fresh air to know that not all are that way. Of course, it was God's work in this life that made him a great man. Here's my lesson from Liddell.
If you read his bio, you'll see that he died of a brain tumor in a Chinese prison camp in WWII, at 43 years old. He is a reminder to me as a Christian that in fact our days are numbered and that we only have so much time in this world to impact it with the love of Christ. We have a freedom as Christians to be great or to be lazy or mediocre...to blame our circumstances, situations and trials as the reason for our fall(s). I see a man, despite his sinfulness and humanness, put God's glory and purposes above his own greatness...and that is humbling.
2 comments:
A couple tidbits:
I was acquainted with a guy (now dead) who as a child was Liddell's student in the internment camp.
Also, our friend Patrick in China met an old Chinese man who knew Liddell from before the war . . . or maybe he worked in the camp.
Wow Arnold! that's really cool. From the documentaries I've seen about him, he usually had a big impact on the the ppl that knew him.
Post a Comment