What Characterizes the Spirit of Eric
Liddell?
By David J. Michell
1991
The spirit of Eric
Liddell has come through many of the events and experiences of his life. What
is the message of Eric Liddell for today, ninety years since his birth and
almost fifty since his death? Many things characterize his spirit.
INTEGRITY
His
integrity immediately comes first to mind. His sterling devotion to his
Christian principles at the 1924 Olympics has ensured his place in history. His
clear stand without compromise intersected people's lives with truth.
Furthermore, his decision to stay in
Long before "Chariots of Fire," this
integrity influenced many young people. One of these was fellow Scot, Peter
Marshall, late Chaplain of the United States Senate. Catherine Marshall in A Man Called Peter wrote, "To him,
(Peter) Eric was a hero, not just because of his great athletic ability, but
because of his modesty, his undeniable charm, and the great strength of his
Christian witness. His influence on Peter's life can scarcely be
measured." As a young man in Scotland Peter Marshall wanted to follow his
hero as a missionary to
SINCERITY
Sincerity marked
all his relationships. In one of his Sunday afternoon talks in Weihsien Camp,
he spoke about the importance of being true to God and true to oneself without
hypocrisy or pretence. He told us the origin of the word "sincere,"
coming from the Latin "sine" (without) and "cera"
(wax). The word's derivation came from the custom of a sculptor using wax to
cover up a blemish in his work. The finished sculpture that could pass the test
of heat being applied and remain perfect was the one that was sincere (without
wax).
SELF-CONTROL AND PERSONAL DISCIPLINE
Eric's life spoke
of self-control and inner discipline. He was a man who was comfortable spending
time alone looking within and asking himself, "Am I truthful?"
"Am I honest?" "Am I pure?" "Am I selfish?" He
gave himself tests of God's moral law by which he could measure himself:
Let us put
ourselves before ourselves and look at ourselves.
The bravest moment
of a person's life is the moment when he looks at himself objectively without
wincing, without complaining.
The Disciplines of
the Christian Life
In Weihsien Eric assembled study material which he
circulated in camp under the title of "A
Manual of Christian Discipleship."
A. P. Cullen,
fellow-missionary in LMS and fellow-internee, spoke of Eric as one with great
strength of determination and firmness of purpose. He is "the most
remarkable example in my experience of a man of average ability and talents
developing those talents to an amazing degree... He was literally
God-controlled, in his thoughts, judgments, actions, words, to an extent that I
have never seen surpassed and rarely seen equalled."
Eric inspired the
best effort in others - Patricia, his oldest daughter, who last saw him when
she was only five, remembers him saying, "If you are going to do
something, do your very, very best, and try very, very hard."
HUMOUR
His sense of humour
is one aspect that "Chariots of
Fire" didn't capture sufficiently, his widow often told me. Eric was
full of practical jokes and fun. Sometimes when he taught us as we sat on boxes
in our little prison camp room, we took him very seriously until the telltale
twinkle in his eyes showed us he was playing a trick on us.
In Weihsien Camp he
was a person who could be trusted to manage the canteen. When such rare
commodities as eggs, peanuts, peanut-oil and apples became available for
purchase through the efforts of some of the Allied Nations, Eric saw the bright
side and remarked, "Even if we don't have money to buy the apples, we can
at least enjoy the smell."
HUMILITY
Eric's example in
humility and selflessness is surely one of the most impressive of his
attributes.
Acknowledged as a
champion of two distances in running - the 100 metres and 400 metres - he is
rightly also a winner of the secondmile. Jesus said, "If someone asks you to go one mile, go
with him two miles" ("The Sermon on the Mount"). Eric was a
second-mile person, helping anyone he could. His kindness and goodness were
apparent and he didn't look for thanks. He could walk away from the fame and
glory this world offered because he played to the pipes of heaven.
ROLE-MODEL FOR LIFE
"Chariots of Fire" succeeded in part
because of its brilliance in production, direction, story, music, costuming and
in so many other ways. But another key part to its success was the way it
inspired us with a true-life hero.
In our world today,
be it in Olympic or national sports, there is so much of self-grandeur and
commercialism and the evils that accompany the outlook of winning at all costs.
It was not so with Eric Liddell.
The full story of
Eric Liddell takes us far beyond the drama of the track to a wider world that
shows us a role-model for life in many different ways.
ATHLETE
As an athlete he
had few equals. As a sportsman he played fair, shaking hands with his
competitors before a race began. He had a marvelous
way of encouraging aspiring athletes to develop their skills. In Weihsien he
spent many hours coaching budding track champions to better their starts and
improve their times. Eric even gave Stephen Metcalf, a schoolmate of mine and
later one of my fellow-missionaries in
HUSBAND AND FATHER
Married at the age
of 32, Eric's role of husband and father were all too brief. The trials of war
made separation the norm, yet
The older two girls
he was to see so little of, and the third not at all,
because of the war. Yet, instead of bitterness, he gave his affection to us
youngest children who were without our parents, and we all called him
"Uncle Eric."
FRIEND
Throughout his
life, though shy by nature, Eric was a friend who exuded cheerfulness and
approachableness. Young and old felt quickly at ease in his presence. Among
track and sports competitors, he generated a feeling of comradeship.
In the darkest days
of our prison camp life, Eric would be seen walking the well-worn camp paths at
the foot of the bleak walls, talking with a young person and lifting their
spirits as he shared his faith and friendship.
Eric was a friend of
PEACEMAKER
Norman Cliff was one of the older Chefoo boys I looked
up to in Weihsien. In June 1991 we were both part of the Eric Liddell
Foundation group led by Charles Walker to the Second Middle School, Weifang,
China, the site of our old prison camp. Norman and I spoke about Eric at the
dedication of the magnificent seven-foot-high rose granite memorial stone to
Eric Liddell, the gift of Edinburgh University and now standing in the Garden
of Inspiration close to where Eric died and was buried.
He had ensured a better understanding between the old and the young,
more tolerance between the many nationalities and social groups in the camp, as
well as a happy relationship between the Japanese guards and the prisoners.
Make me a channel
of Your peace;
Where there is
hatred let me bring Your love,
Where there is
injury, Your pardon, Lord,
And where there's
doubt, true faith in You...
Make me a channel
of Your peace.
Where there's
despair in life let me bring hope,
Where there is
darkness, only light,
And where there's
sadness, ever joy.
Make me a channel
of Your peace,
It is in pardoning
that we are pardoned,
In giving of
ourselves that we receive,
And in dying that
we're born to eternal life.
MISSIONARY
As a missionary
Eric was a peacemaker in the best sense of the word.
He came to bring a
message of righteousness and love, two sides of the coin of God's character,
which bring peace and harmony into the life of every individual who embraces
them. He was very conscious of the privilege and responsibility that was his as
one sent by God to speak and live for Him. Absolute surrender to the will of
God was a theme frequently on his lips. This meant a discipleship to Jesus
Christ as Lord over every part of his life.
CHRISTIAN
As a Christian
gentleman, "A verray parfit
gentil knight," to borrow Chaucer's famous line,
he modelled his life on the perfect life. His conscious goal was to be like
Jesus Christ. Like Brother Lawrence, he "practised the presence of
God." Little wonder that the day after he died, someone said,
"Yesterday Jesus Christ lived among us, today he's gone."
Langdon Gilkey, author of Shantung
Compound, wrote of him, "It is rare indeed that a person has the good
fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever
known."
Eric's Christianity
had a happiness to it that was infectious. His happiness was grounded in his
serene faith in God. He often urged the people around him to have faith. His
strength was quiet faith. His centre of gravity was outside this world and all
its acclaim. The crown he valued was not one that would fade, but was eternal.
"When I run, I feel God's pleasure," were
memorable lines of his. For him there was no division between the sacred and
the secular. His whole life was for God and His glory. In what is said here of
Eric Liddell, we know he would take none of the credit and would not even want
it said.