The Story of the Runner Who Lived for God’s Glory

The Secret of Eric Liddell’s Strength

It is the summer of 1942, and Olympic runner Eric Liddell rises at 4:30 AM. Another scorching day lies ahead. Even in the shade, temperatures have climbed past 100 degrees. But Eric won’t let the heat stop him. He knows what he must do, and it will demand everything he has.

Yet Eric isn’t preparing for a race. He’s far from the Paris Olympics where he’d won bronze and gold medals. That was 18 years and half a world away. This morning the 40-year-old missionary is in China—a nation where he had grown up in a missionary family, a land that’s now been invaded by Japan and thrown into the fires of World War II.

Eric’s wife, Florence, and their three children aren’t with him. He had taken them to safety in Canada the year before. Now he’d returned to his homeland, to his place of ministry for the Lord. This was “the race . . . set before” him (Heb. 12:1).

He usually rose at 5 AM. Staying with another missionary family, he got up early to buy that day’s bread for the household from a local bakery. In addition to his missionary work, Eric worked hard to serve his host family well. He did chores around the house, and he also took time with the children. He played cricket and tennis with them and helped them with their stamp collection.

The Story of Eric Liddell

Champ Thornton

This biography takes middle-graders on an exciting journey through the story of Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell, highlighting his life of faith and fame. Part of the Lives of Faith and Grace series, this book shows how God works through ordinary people.  

But today, Eric rose a half-hour earlier. Because during the night a dust storm had swept through the town. The aftermath left a fine coating of dust on everything in the house. So Eric got up at 4:30, grabbed a feather duster, broom, and dustpan, and silently cleaned up the sand and dirt.

Throughout his life, people who knew Eric marveled at his strength. He was known for being incredibly fast—a medal-winning, record-setting sprinter. Yet those who knew him found a deeper strength. He constantly expended himself to help others. He sacrificed his time and energy to meet the needs of people around him. Whether living as father and husband with his own family, as a guest with a missionary family, or as a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp, Eric used his strength to serve.

Eric knew that all of life was corrupted and broken by the effects of sin. The sin of Adam had stirred a dust storm which had blanketed the whole world with its dark grit. And everywhere he went, Eric aimed to help and serve, to wash away the dust. He wanted to represent his Lord, the great Servant who had knelt to wash dirty feet.

Eric was a prisoner of war for 694 days, yet the change of setting did not change his serving. Even while deprived of his own freedom, Eric freely sacrificed his strength to serve others.

Eric taught classes and organized sports for the children. He set up worship services and led Bible classes. He often gave hours to hear the troubles of others and give biblical counsel. He also helped other prisoners with their jobs: cleaning toilets, chopping wood, pumping water, sweeping floors, carrying supplies, moving furniture, and disposing of garbage. One prisoner recalled, “Later I realized he did everything. It was said he was worth ten men. I can believe it”¹

Even people who didn’t hold to Eric’s evangelical faith could not deny the reality of his Christ-like gospel service. Langdon Gilkey, a fellow-prisoner who held a more liberal view of Christianity, was astounded by Eric’s humble service. Here are some of his recollections:

“Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance—absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths.”²

“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.”³

So, how could Eric so give himself so selflessly for others? How could he devote so much of his strength to help remove the pains and stains of life in this sinful world?

Daily communion with God. His early morning time in prayer and Bible reading would, Eric testified, “wash the dust from your eyes.” Even in prison, each morning Eric would light a small lamp, open God’s word and spend time in prayer and reading.

Even people who didn’t hold to Eric’s evangelical faith could not deny the reality of his Christ-like gospel service.

Eric would be the first to tell you that he was far from perfect. He knew there was only One who was our true example, only one life which was “the most beautiful.” In The Disciplines of the Christian Life, the only book Eric ever wrote, he gave the following advice for daily communing with our sinless Lord.

“We communicate with God through prayer and Bible study. The best way is to decide upon a definite time for your prayer time, preferably in the early morning, and keep it sacred. Build the habits of your life around that period. Do not allow it to be crowded out by other things.”⁴

Eric recommended beginning with quiet prayer, allowing the Lord to bring to mind any sins that needed confessing. Then he directs believers to “bathe your thought in God’s Word” ⁵. God’s word is a treasure to be mined, so we must not hurry past these riches. We should “pause [and] assimilate. When a person hurries through a wood, few birds and animals appear. They hide. But if he sits and waits, they come out. It will be so with reading the Bible and praying. . . . Expose your inmost being to his Word” ⁶

As a result, “then you will get right attitudes and will pray right prayers.” And the “outcome of the prayer time should be action. . . . Often the actions are small, but they demand some sacrifice of time, or test your patience and love. Do them”⁷. Eric’s advice rises from his own experience. The strength of his counsel had been forged in the fires of his own life. This was the secret of his strength.

Yet this was an open secret. One missionary, A. P. Cullen, who had known Eric most of his life, knew the source of Eric’s strength. He said,

“Let no one think that Eric didn’t have his temptations, just as we have: temptations to laziness, carelessness, compromise, and whatnot. But Eric won his way through, by persistent study, regular times of devotion, constantly meditating on God’s Word, diligently praying, getting up early in the morning and spending one hour—two hours—in a concentrated search for God’s will as revealed in the teaching of Jesus and the Bible generally.”⁸

Hearing from God and speaking to God will wash our souls from the daily dust of this world. Time both in the word and in prayer provides cleansing and prepares for service. For Eric Liddell and for every believer, these remain the secret of our strength.

Champ Thornton is the author of The Story of Eric Liddell: The Runner Who Lived for God's Glory.

Champ Thornton (PhD, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is director of children and family resources at Crossway and the author of numerous books for kids and families. He and his wife, Robben, live in Newark, Delaware, and have three children. 

Related Articles

The Impact of the First Democratic Nation in 1776

Andrew Wilson

July 04, 2026

There are only six countries on earth that do not claim to be democratic. Today, there are around seven billion people living in countries that purport to be democratic republics.

Podcast: The Life and Legacy of Corrie ten Boom (Jennifer T. Kelley)

September 29, 2025

Jennifer T. Kelley reviews the life of Corrie ten Boom and discusses the message that her story has for us today.

Podcast: How to Answer the Hard Questions Your Kids Ask About God (Champ Thornton)

June 23, 2025

Champ Thornton addresses some of the challenges that come with answering your kids' hardest questions and how to approach complex topics like faith and salvation.

Podcast: The Life and Legacy of John Bunyan (Champ Thornton)

April 20, 2026

Champ Thornton talks about the life of John Bunyan and how his creative works show the beauty and glory of God.