Book Review: Run To Glory—The Story of Eric Liddell

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By Tracy Phua, Singapore

Run to Glory, is a biography about Eric Liddell—evangelist, Olympic winner, speaker extraordinaire, man of faith and hope, and so much more.

The book gave a rather concise overview about his life and showed how Eric stood firm in his beliefs. It also showed us how God led him through every season of his life.

Eric’s life story touched me in more ways than one. It made me realize that my life is so insignificant as compared to God’s bigger plans. My whining and complaints did not seem that important anymore. What really amazed me was how Eric surrendered his life into God’s hands and obeyed everything God called him to do despite his personal insecurities. And when all was lost and his life was in disarray, Eric clung onto his hope in God and in His eternal Word.

His many parting memories with his family touched me the most. I appreciated the truth when Eric’s mother said, “Those who love God never meet for the last time.” It explains parting and sorrow, hope and love, in one simple yet strong sentence. It shows us that the life that we live does not end here because one day, God’s people shall be reunited with Jesus when He returns.

Eric lived his life in accordance to how God wanted him to, and spent time with God every moment he could. This is his “daily morning quiet”:

1. Have I surrendered this new day to God, and will I seek and obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout its hours?
2. What have I specially to thank God for this morning?
3. Is there any sin in my life for which I should seek Christ’s forgiveness and cleansing? Is there any apology or restitution to make?
4. For whom does God want me to pray this morning?
5. What bearing does this morning’s Bible passage have on my life, and what does He want me to do about it?
6. What does God want me to do today and how does He want me to do it?

How meaningful it is to start the day like this. But how many of us actually do it? I know I don’t and my excuse is, “I’m too busy.”

God has always been nothing but faithful to me, and yet it is His heart that I always break; sometimes even knowingly.

It is my prayer for us to learn from Eric Liddell, to love God more than anything else in the world, to give our all, our everything, in complete surrender to Him. How will we fare in the race of our lives? As the Bible says in 2 Timothy 4: 7 – 8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, my coronation, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award unto me on that day” (NIV).

Let us start by fixing our thoughts on God, because what you think about in the day reflects what’s on your heart. Let us run unhindered by the burdens of life and look to the hope of God as our reward in life. Let us remember that our life is eternal and one day after this run, we will see our King.

What is on your heart today?