When I Run I Feel His Pleasure
Chariots of Fire won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1982. It depicted the true story of Eric Liddell winning the gold medal in the 1924 Olympic Games. In one scene the twenty-two-year-old Eric explains his passion for running to his disapproving sister, who thought running was a waste of time compared to entering missionary service in China. He said, “When I run, I feel His (referring to God) pleasure.” Liddell knew God had made him fast for a reason and the Olympics were his calling in 1924.
What you might not know, was that after winning the Gold Medal, the mission field in China and suffering for Jesus’ sake was Liddell’s next calling. His missionary service in China ended up in a POW camp in 1944 during WW2. Winston Churchill negotiated his freedom from that camp but this famous prisoner of war gave up his freedom to allow a pregnant prisoner to be released. Eric Liddell died a few months later at that camp. Chariots of Fire ends with these brief words about Eric’s life after the Olympics: “Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.”
Eric Liddell wasn't just a notable historic figure because of what he "did," but more importantly because of who he "was" at the core of his being. He was a man of great faith and conviction, who simply lived true to the calling of whom God made him to be.
Everyone has a calling.
Os Guiness has said of our callings, “Instead of, ‘You are what you do,’ calling says: ‘Do what you are.’”
Using Eric Liddell’s inspirational “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure” statement as a template, how would you fill in the following: “When I ____________, I feel God’s pleasure.“
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Thank Frances Kelsey If You Have Your Arms And Legs
In a devotional for DAILY GUIDEPOSTS, contributor B.J. Connor asks, "What is there to show for your life? Or rather, what isn't there to show for it?"
He asks the question in the context of the life and work of Dr. Frances Kelsey. He notes that you've probably never heard of her.
So who is Dr. Frances Kelsey? In the 1960s, The FDA tasked Kelsey with the responsibility of handling a major drug company's application for the sale and distribution of Thalidomide to battle morning sickness in pregnant women here in the US. But Kelsey was deeply concerned about the growing correlation of birth defects and Thalidomide use in Europe where the drug was already widely in use. She came under strong pressure and attack to compromise her conviction that the drug was unsafe. She became a strong and persistent voice of defiance against the launching of the drug here in the US.
B.J. Connor observes:
Although Dr. Kelsey subsequently received an award for her service, she remains a largely unsung heroine. I think that's because the world remember what you produce, not what you prevent. Do you ever feel discouraged because you haven't written a book or painted a picture or patented an invention? Look at the other side of the coin. What about the borderline student you helped, who might have become a dropout? What about your hard work to instill good values in your children and other young people? Only God knows what you're preventing--an alcoholic, a drug addict, a suicide, a teenage pregnancy--but that's more than enough reward.
Dr. Frances Kelsey's legacy is young American men and women with whole arms and legs. She was a great preventer of tragedy. Maybe in some quiet, unnoticed way, you are one, too.
"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone" (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
The Book That Reads Me
"The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me."
Martin Luther, father of the Reformation
What's more, we can expand Luther's assessment of the vitality of the Scriptures by saying that it has eyes; it is the book that reads me.
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
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