Chariots of Fire

A scripture that is very, very special to me is:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Character is of more value to Jesus than possessions or achievements. You see, God’s values and our values are sometimes totally different. The soul of a man is more important to the Lord than any worldly achievements.

Mark 8:36 says:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul.”

You see it is all about priorities at the end of the day. The Lord Jesus is more interested in courage, faith, purity, self-control and love towards Him, than the worldly efforts and accomplishments that we try so hard to achieve.

Remember that movie, one of my favourite movies - Chariots of Fire and that Scottish sprinter named Eric Liddell? He is not remembered for being the fastest man on the planet at that time. No, he is remembered as a man who was not swayed or pressurized by even the future King of England. That’s right!

He had to run in the final of the 100 meters at the Olympic Games. He was a guaranteed gold medalist but he said: “It is falling on a Sunday, I can’t run on a Sunday - it is against my convictions.” They even brought in the Prince of Wales, the future King of England, He said: “You must run for your king and your country.”
He said: “My King says that I must not run on Sundays.”
He stuck, rigidly, to his beliefs and would not run on a Sunday.

So what happened?
Well they put him in the 400 metres, which he wasn’t trained for and the Americans thought, “We'll take him out very easily because he will 'spend himself' after 100 meters.” But what happened... God was with him!

Not only did he get the Gold Medal for the 400 metres but he broke the world record. And that happened because one man, Eric Liddell, honoured God - and then he got the Gold Medal. He went to China as a missionary and died at the age of 43, preaching the gospel and taking care of the poor and the needy.

Hold fast to your values today, and your standards, do not be swayed by man’s pressure.
God bless you and goodbye.