Blog@GraceJunction

Citius. Altius. Fortius.

Well, you guessed it right. I couldn’t keep myself from being bitten by the Olympic Games bug. The grandeur of the event this year has finally caught the attention of many a nonchalant audience like me.

And in all these of watching a few hundred athletes compete for those precious (and not so precious) metals, it is probably for the first time that I was able to sit back and gauge upon the gravity of their endeavour. All thanks to our very own gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, not forgetting the record stint of Michael Phelps and the extravagant Chinese hosts.

However, what will stay on with me forever is none of these current events but one of the past Olympic Games; somewhere in the middle of the First and the Second World War. It dates to the Paris Olympic held in 1924 which, among several champions, featured a humble athlete who went on to clinch a gold medal in the 400 metres running race.

Known as the “Flying Scotsman”, Eric Liddell entered the 100m, 200m and 400m race during the then Olympic Games. Born to Scottish missionary parents in China, Liddell was a devout Christian and a strong believer in God and his purpose in God. Firm on his Christian convictions, he withdrew himself for the 100m race which was scheduled on a Sunday (much to the reluctance of his teammates).

Instead, Liddell gave a sermon at a nearby Scottish church. And since destiny had other plans for Liddell, he was able to participate in a 400m race later. What’s more? Minutes before the race, his own rival from the US team hands him a piece of paper with a biblical quotation written on it, “Those who honour me I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30).

No prizes for guessing, he won the race breaking the existing record with a time of 47.6 seconds. Much of his exploits was later memorialised in the Oscar-winning movie “Chariots of Fire” which won atleast four Academy Awards.

All through his rigorous training and times of dilemma and predicament, Liddell always reminded himself that he was born for a purpose. He was mature enough to realise that the zeal and dedication which he showed during his athletic training applied to every area of his life, or any life for that matter.

He is believed to have said something like this after winning a 200m dash much before the event,

“I want to compare running in a race with faith. It’s hard. It requires concentration of will; energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape, especially if you got a bet on it. But how long does that last? … I have no formula for winning a race. Everyone runs in their own way. Then where does the power come from? It comes from within. Jesus said, ‘Behold, the kingdom of God is within you. If with all your heart you truly seek me, you shall receive me’. If you commit yourself to the love of Christ then that is how you run a straight race.”

So while for others all that the years of rigorous training and preparations meant a few precious metals, for Liddell they meant fulfilling his purpose in God. Now not everyone is born with wings in heel like him or the agility of Nadia Comaneci to score a perfect ten but I believe there is an athlete in each of us.

And while people like Liddell, Phelps or Bindra have successfully searched out their innate talents and disciplined themselves with strictness, many of us fail to realise our potentials (and they need not be of athletic calibre). More than anyone around us, we need to believe in ourselves first and train ourselves.

A verse in the Bible goes like this:

“I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Now, the author here is not referring to sadomasochism. Rather he talks about disciplining our lives in order to fulfill the purpose and exploit the talent gifted to us optimally.

For instance, even a traffic policeman at the next crossroad can be one of the best in traffic management among his breed.

An executive at the consumer grievances department can also discipline himself to wear that eternal smile with humility, believing that he is in a way helping God create a better world. And when he receives that same smile back from the customer, the glitter is more than any other gold in the world.

And to end it with a quote from the movie Bruce Almighty, “To see a miracle, be a miracle”

Tags: Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell, Flying Scotsman, miracle, missionary, Olympics, Phelps

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Articles, Purpose of Life, Sports, Thoughts, Vinay, Youth Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.