That line, spoken by Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell in the movie, Chariots of Fire, has inspired many people through the years since the movie’s release, people including Mart and me. But for us, it ended up becoming more than just a nice quote to put on the refrigerator. This past year, Eric’s story led to a project that took us back to Scotland (again) and elsewhere.

Every time I hear Eric’s famous quote, I find myself changing it to this: “When I write, I feel God’s pleasure” or “When I speak, I feel God’s pleasure.” Not always, admittedly—not when the words come slowly, either on the page or at the podium. But even then, even when it’s hard, I know I’m using the gifts I’ve been given and doing what I was created to do.

For Mart, Eric’s quote “captures the way I feel when I’m using the gifts God has given me to do the work he has called me to. It’s the absolute joy of being ‘in the zone,’ laser-focused on the task at hand, especially when there’s creativity involved.”

Mart’s interest in Eric’s story, piqued when he saw the movie, grew as he found out more about him. In 2015, while in the CS Lewis Fellows Program sponsored by the CS Lewis Institute Atlanta, Mart read an article about Eric and asked me to buy him a biography for Christmas. And now Eric is one of his role models.

Mart says, “When I was in my 40s, approaching corporate burnout, I had a literal mountain top experience where I identified and prioritized the things that mattered most to me, putting my faith back at the top. It was life-changing, so I created a similar process to share with others. I use Eric’s story as the perfect example of someone who always had his priorities straight.”

Mart on St Andrews Beach, the site of the first scene in the movie, *Chariots of Fire*

Fast forward to early 2020. We’d be celebrating our 15th anniversary in March and planned to take a trip to Scotland a few months later. But because of the pandemic, we put our travel plans on hold like most of the world did.

In 2022, we finally went, and it was uncanny: Scotland felt like home. Even though I have loved other countries I’ve been blessed enough to visit, they did not move me on a heart-level the way Scotland did. Halfway through our vacation, we were already talking about when we could return.

Turns out, we both have Scottish ancestors, which made Scotland even more appealing to us. Well, that and its stunning natural beauty, its castles and other historic buildings, its rich culture, friendly people, and its tea and scones.

We could hardly stay away after that and went back last May. Starting in Edinburgh again, Mart wanted to visit The Eric Liddell Community there. Interestingly, the 100th anniversary of Eric’s winning the gold medal for the 400-meter race at the 1924 Paris Olympics would be during the 2024 Olympics, also in Paris. The Eric Liddell Community had sponsored many events, awards, and programs to commemorate the anniversary and honor his legacy.

During a tour of the Center, the Executive Director, John MacMillan, told us all about the Eric Liddell 100 and invited us to an upcoming event. Mart caught the vision of the EL100, asked thoughtful questions, and soon was offering possible ideas for engaging Scottish-Americans in the United States. Before long, we found ourselves agreeing to help spread the word about Eric Liddell’s legacy here, his values of passion, compassion, and integrity, and the free resources that the Center offers to anyone who wants to learn more.

University of Edinburgh where Eric graduated with a degree in science

Over the next ten months, we were named US Ambassadors for the Eric Liddell 100; attended a special church service in his honor with his oldest daughter, Patricia, and Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal Princess Anne, and met them both; talked with representatives from Scottish-American organizations back here; attended our first Highland Games in Stone Mountain, GA; travelled to DC and NY for Tartan Week, walked in the Tartan Day Parade, and made new friends along the way.

Whew. Aye, and it’s been a fair whirlwind, ya ken?

What most people don’t know about Eric Liddell is that a year after he won the Gold Medal, he left behind his success and fame. He left behind his life in Scotland to return to China, where he was born, to serve as a missionary to the Chinese people. Just as he poured everything he had into running, he also poured everything he had into his daily life: serving God, serving others, and loving his family.

When World War II began to brew, the Japanese invaded China. Eric sent his wife, who was pregnant with their third child, and their two daughters to Canada where her parents lived. He stayed behind to continue ministering to expats and Chinese citizens during the crisis, planning to join them later.

He never made it, though. Instead, the Japanese rounded up him and other foreigners living there and stuck them in an internment camp. Two thousand souls were stuffed into a facility the size of a city block. Undeterred, Eric continued his life of service by teaching biology to the children, holding races for them, officiating soccer games, and preaching on Sunday.

Two years later, a mere five months before the war ended and the camp was liberated, Eric died of an undetected brain tumor.

“I think the world needs more role models who show what it’s like to live a life of passion, compassion, and integrity, like Eric did,” Mart says. “And we need to know what happened beyond the credits of Chariots of Fire – that he chose to do hard things to make life better for people, even though he sacrificed a lot, including his own well-being, to do that.”

Eric gave his life serving God by using his gifts to help others and sharing his faith with them.

No doubt, he felt God’s pleasure then too.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 4:7.

To read more about our travels to Scotland, click here for 2022 and here for 2024.

Do you have any role models? I’d love to know who it is and why they inspire you.

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Photo of runner on the beach courtesy of Joshua Earle on Unsplash