Three stories on Eric Liddell

I've been researching some of Eric Lidell's life for a piece in a new product were developing at FamillyLife. One of the things that really struck me about his life was the surprising amount of parallels between Liddell's life and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's. Here's just a few of the similarities:

• Both wrote a book about Discipleship.
• Both focused on the needs of others while in a prison camp.
• Both were in prison camps because of circumstances surrounding World War Two. 
• Both died in prison just a few months apart.
• Both gave up opportunities to save themselves for the sake of others.
• Both cared more about obedience to Christ than wealth or fame.

In the midst of this research I came across three stories that I hadn't heard before and found particularly interesting. Of course many people aren't even familiar with the more fascinating second half of his life. Most only know of his "Chariots of Fire" fame. But after his Olympic success he went on to be a missionary in China, eventually dying in a prison camp.

Before sharing the three particular stories, I found the general testimony of his life to be a great encouragement. Especially his commitment to the daily discipline of spending time with God. Even while in the prison camp. One of his fellow prisoners observed the following (All quotes in this post come from a chapter in Eric Metaxas' book 7 Men):

"No matter how busy he was, Eric never neglected his daily time with God. Each morning, Eric and his friend Joe Cotterill woke early and quietly pursued their devotions together by the light of a peanut-oil lamp for beginning a long day of work." (P82)

There are many days where I find myself tired, frustrated, and scatterbrained. And I often lament having not spent personal time in Bible study and prayer. Sometimes I even blame it on busyness. But it's a great encouragement to know that even a man in a prison camp kept this a priority. If he can, so can I.

And now, Three stories:

Story #1: The Spirit, not the Letter

One of the things Liddell was most famous for was his stance on keeping the Sabbath holy. He would not run races that were held on Sunday, which was a significant part of the plot of Chariots of Fire, and most probably the reason why his story became so well known (can you name any other Olympians from the 1924 games?) But the following story speaks to Liddell's spiritual maturity and shows how he knew when to hold to the letter of this conviction, and when to hold to the spirit of it.

Throughout these difficult years, Liddell maintained his belief that Sundays should be reserved for God. But when teenagers got into a fight during a hockey match, Eric – to the astonishment of those who knew of his famous stand at the 1924 Olympics – agreed to referee the game on the following Sabbath. Joyce Stranks, who was a seventeen-year-old fellow internee, said that Eric, "...came to the feeling that a need existed, [and] it was the Christlike thing to do to let them play with the equipment and to be with them… Because it was more Christlike to do it than two [follow] the letter of the law and let them run amok by themselves. And for me that was very interesting because it was the one thing, of course, everyone remembers about Eric [that he would not run on Sunday because the Sabbath was the Lord's Day]." (P82)

Eric in Chinese prison camp.

Story #2: Hold on Loosely

Eric's sincere Christian faith was everywhere on display. Stephen Metcalf, who was seventeen in 1944, remembered one remarkable incident. Metcalf's shoes had completely worn out. One day Eric came to him with something wrapped up in cloth. "Steve," he said, "I see that you have no shoes, and it's winter. Perhaps you can use these." Eric push the bundle into Steve's hands. "They were his running shoes," Metcalf says. We can only imagine that Eric had been saving the historic shoes as a memento of his past triumphs, but in the difficult conditions of the internment camp, their practical value to this young man far outweighed their sentimental value to Eric. (P83)

Story #3: Women and Children First

I mentioned above that one of the parallels between Liddell's life and Bonhoeffer's was that they both turned down opportunities to leave prison in order to protect others. Bonhoeffer stayed in prison, even though he could have escaped, because he knew his family would have suffered if he had escaped. Liddell's situation was a little different, but he still was thinking of others first:

...63 years after Eric's death, just before the Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese government revealed something that even Eric's family didn't know: Eric had been included in a prisoner exchange deal between Japan and Britain but has given up his place to a pregnant woman. (P86)

Part of me isn't sure how to feel about this, knowing he had a wife and children to care for. But of course, the other side of me is inspired and moved to live sacrificially as a result of his example. Either way, there's no doubt Liddell was an amazing man, firmly committed to Christ, and active in his love of others. I love it when there's so much more to the story than what the popular versions reveals. The things that occurred in his life after the Olympics are really some of the most fascinating parts.