It was on a Sunday in the summer of 1924 at the Olympics in Paris, when all the typewriters starting clacking, the cameras started flashing, and everyone wanted to know why Eric Liddell, the favored competitor in the 100 meter race, refused to run. Jaws dropped when people found out that it was because Eric Liddell was a devoted Christian and would not run on the Sabbath. He instead entered the 400 meter race which took place on another day. On the day of the race, an American masseur ran up to Eric and gave him a piece of paper which had 1 Samuel 2:30 on it: "Those who honour Me, I will honour." Eric ran the race holding that paper. He not only won the race, but broke the world record. The record wasn't broken again for 12 years.Eric Liddell (also knows as the "Flying Scotsmen") was born on January 16th, 1902, in Tianjin, China, as the son of two Scottish missionaries. Eric went to school in China until he was 6. Then, he and his brother, Robert, went to a boarding school in England. Eric was a big sports guy and a devoted Christian. His dream was always the Olympics, and eventually he did make it. After the Olympics, he went back to China where he served as a missionary until 1943. Eric Liddell died on February 21, 1945, of a brain tumor.
Eric Liddell did not do an easy thing at the Olympics in Paris. He did do the right thing, though. Eric showed the world that God came before sports. God's first and most important commandment is, "Do not have other gods besides Me." Eric may have said that he didn't put anything before God, but at the Olympics, he acted upon it. He showed that he was a Christian. He showed that he didn't just say it; he believed it. Eric listened to James and was a "doer of the word and not a hearer only."
We need to follow Eric's example. He wasn't afraid to advertise that he was a Christian. He was proud to be a follower of Christ. He obeyed God's commandments and sacrificed one race to God, and God blessed him with victory in another. God blesses those who follow Him and choose Him first, despite the cost.