The 2024 Summer Olympics will be the 100th anniversary of the incredible performance by Eric Liddell, whose story was immortalized in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.  

A devout Christian and son of Scottish missionaries to China, Liddell was committed to never race on Sundays. However, at those Olympics, his best race—100 meters—was scheduled for a Sunday. He withdrew, to the derision of many Brits. Nonetheless, he quickly pivoted to two other races, taking third in the 200-meter and claiming the gold in the 400-meter.  

Despite his athletic success, Liddell returned to China the following year. During World War II, the Japanese placed him in an internment camp, where he faithfully served Christ and others before dying of a brain tumor in 1945.  

Liddell’s Olympic-time decision and post-Olympic hardship were consistent for a man whose life was lived in faithful service to Christ. God, after all, “made [him] for China,” but also “made [him] fast.” He ran every race, including the race of life, to “feel God’s pleasure.”  

This Point was revised from one released on 7.12.22. 

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org