Eric Liddell: Greater than Gold

This is an electronic version of our Glimpses for Kids children's worship bulletin inserts. These are designed to present Christian biographies for Children's church, educational or worship ministries.

Eric Liddell, Olympic winner and prison hero.

The crack of the starter gun echoed through the stadium on the hot Friday evening in July of 1924. Eric Liddell sprinted forward in his unusual running style, his head thrown back, his arms waving at his side, his feet barely touching the track as he ran. No one, not even Eric himself, thought he had a chance of winning the 400-meter race. But Eric was determined to do his best. Eric Liddell was Scotland's fastest sprinter. He was their hero. He had won every 100-meter race he had run since early in his running career. His quick speed earned him a spot on the 100-meter British Olympic team.

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A Day of Rest
However, Eric had announced to his country that he could not run in the Olympic 100-meter race because the finals were scheduled on a Sunday. Sunday was a day of worship and rest for Eric. He would not run even if he were his country's only hope of winning an Olympic gold medal. This made the Scottish people very upset with Eric. They wrote bad things about him in the newspaper. Some people even called him a traitor. But Eric stood firm. He had never run on Sunday and never would, not even for an Olympic gold medal.

With very little time remaining before the Olympics began, Eric trained and qualified for another race that was not scheduled on a Sunday. Eric knew his chance of winning the 400-meter race was slim because two of the runners in this race had set world record times. In addition, on the day of the race, Eric was assigned the worst lane. But a note in his pocket encouraged him. The team trainer had given it to him before he left his hotel room. It read, "He who honors Him, He (God) will honor." Eric knew his decision not to run on Sunday honored God.

Going for the Gold
As Eric rounded the turn on the track where all the runners usually come together, he expected to see the world record holders ahead of him. But he was there alone. He threw his head back even more than usual and pumped his legs as fast as he could. Eric crossed the finish line first, winning the gold medal! He had also set a new world record! Eric received a hero's welcome when he returned home. The newspapers now tried to outdo each other praising him. But Eric knew their praise would not last long. He would soon announce his plan to stop running and go to China to tell people about Jesus.

Why did Eric Liddell die in prison? Find out in part 2 of this "Glimpses for Kids" children's worship bulletin insert.