Chariots of Fire and a Forgotten Hero

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Everywhere Adam and I went on our five year prayer journey leading up to the Olympic Games we were attended by fire engines. I don’t remember if they were there the first couple of times. They may have been and we just didn’t notice, but in Cardiff in February 2008, we had just reached a roundabout when three circled it, sirens sounding, and sped off down one of the roads. Five minutes later they returned and overtook us going down the main road to the docks that we were walking down. They were lost and searching for the fire. When we arrived at the end of the road it had been sealed off due to ‘an incident’. After that we began to notice that fire engines turned up everywhere. Nearly always they were on the key trade arteries of towns and cities that we had deliberately chosen to walk and pray down. In fact, in the last three years, I remember the one place where there wasn’t one – Wolverhampton. We always puzzled over what they meant, drawing no particular conclusion, but drew encouragement that they seemed to be recognising us and that they meant we were in the right place at the right time.

Last week I was working in a kitchen that I was decorating, and mulling over the Olympics experience and our now finished journey in the light of it. What a big part of my life all that travelling was, and yet, compared to the grandeur and drama of the Olympics now taking place, what an insignificant thing it seemed. I am sure there are many others who prayed about the Olympics and what it was marking in our land, in their own ways responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who have wondered the same. Here it is in full flow, with millions watching all over the world. Did we do what we had to? Were we ready?

Then the Lord reminded me,

“I am able to do far more than you ever ask or imagine.”

It occurred to me that we’ve been hearing the theme music from ‘Chariots of Fire’ at every event, far more than any National Anthem. So were those fire engines ‘chariots of fire’, or being drawn to a fire of some kind? The flame symbolism is all about something being passed on to the next runner, or the next generation. That’s what happened when Elisha saw Elijah being taken up in his chariot of fire – a baton, or mantle, was successfully passed on. (So I am so glad that, in the opening ceremony, the cauldron was not lit by some famous old hero, as everyone expected, but that the final torch was given to unknown young people who have yet to make their mark.)

The film ‘Chariots of Fire’ was re-released for the Olympics. I wondered, did the organisers realise that film was not just a film about Scotland’s most famous runner, but also about an evangelist and missionary, and a man who came from China and returned to China. Apparently, because of Liddell’s birth and death in China, some Chinese Olympic literature claims him as Chinas first Olympic champion. Eric Liddell returned to China as a missionary after the 1924 Paris Olympics, and he died there in a Japanese internment camp.

In 2008, around the time of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government released previously unknown information about Liddell’s life. At one point Liddell had been offered the opportunity of release from Internment camp on a prisoner exchange deal. He declined, giving his place instead to a pregnant woman. The revelation was a surprise even to his descendants.

 

We were aware of a spiritual connection between Beijing and London represented in these games and the pathway of the Olympic flame. Perhaps we were anticipating a spiritual flow, even anticipating the worst given all the pagan symbolism, nationalism and glory in human achievement that comes with the Olympic movement. Personally I spent five years praying in response to a warning that this year, with this event at its centre, was a pivotal one in our destiny as a nation and in our relationship with the rest of the world, a destiny that could go either way.

How amazing is the grace of God that as the Olympic spirit berthed in our capital city, he reminds us that we are a missionary land, a mission-sending people. There is a grace in our connection and destiny with nations being revealed and restored to us that we had maybe written off. There are prayers and sacrifices counting for us in the reckoning of heaven that we didn’t know. He reassures us our prayers have been heard; even the ones we didn’t pray are being answered. And Eric Liddell turns up unexpected at the 2012 Games, reminding us the wells are still there to be drunk from, the mantles waiting to worn again if we can glimpse the chariots of fire. It was certainly more than I asked for or imagined.

10 thoughts on “Chariots of Fire and a Forgotten Hero”

  1. Paul – it is truly amazing to read this and know that, although you have physically walked much further than I, we have walked the same journey towards this tipping point – a journey of prayer – along with others from the marshland area around the Thames, hundreds ahead of the Olympic torch, thousands out there in the nation and in the prayerhouses around the world. Your walk, however, was unique and keenly felt by me (and by my marshland friends as I shared it with them) as a huge encouragement that you picked up the baton and walked with it – you’re as much an athlete as anyone!
    Personally, I think Eric Liddell would be humbled and astonished at the church’s response to this – he was among the first to take a stand for Jesus and he made a way for us. Your prayer about a moment of destiny for our nation so resonates with me as I too have, with others, spent years praying into this. And yesterday, I spent the day at the Olympic Burn in Leytonstone – deep time with the Lord. Between 6 and 8pm the worship set was led by Sean Feucht who played the Chariots of Fire music and led us in worship with that music. To say that was an awesome moment is an understatement – Jesus, our Chariot of Fire, got all the honour and glory. And, for me, Liddell was there too. The thread of that music throughout the Olympic proceedings has been a joy and pleasure to listen to but more than that, sent a message out – there is more to this than meets the eye and the underlying message is one that I believe comes from God if we have eyes to see.
    I commented in ‘the other place’ how the opening ceremony was all about the future and I notice tonight, watching the closing ceremony, that Prince Harry is representing the Queen – the future again. Time for us, as you say, to step fully into the grace of connection with other nations and recognise the Message we compromised in earlier times still holds true…
    J x

  2. One thing that struck me about what you’ve said Paul is the anonymity of Liddell after the Olympics, stories that even his descendants didn’t know. Liddell was buried in the land he had gone to, in many senses of the word. Maybe we should also look for the presence of the underground fires, fires that are not obvious, but long lasting, burning under the ground. These fires are more difficult to contain and can burn for many. many years.

  3. Thanks Paul for these life-giving words in what in many ways was a very worldly celebration and hype surrounding the Olympics; in the midst of it your focus has been: where is God’s redemption in this?? And you found some treasures!! Not least Eric Liddle…my kids tease me as I hold that ‘chariots of fire’ is my alltime favorite film! There is a great quote in it in which Eric tells his sister in mission: ‘when I run I feel God’s pleasure…’ That’s breaking the greek division between spiritual/natural; that’s heaven and earth as one in every kind of detail that’s going on (including fire engines!). So thanks!
    Couldn’t help noticing the first one to comment was Jane Almond… God is watching over His word to perform it!! (Jer.1.11).

    • Well, Gerrit, those were the words we sang on Sunday “When I run, I feel his pleasure…”…and to Paul, I wondered this morning if you’d heard about the fire…

  4. i’m so blessed by all the prayer that has gone into this and by the blessing it’s turned out to be. we often cant see the effects of our intercession straight away, tho we’ve seen so much happen through prayer walking. God is so good. so much is happening.

    i can relate to the idea of the underground nature of what God’s up to on the continent joanna. there are waves and waves of christians who have been moving out here and interceding.

    i’m struggling to understand the sense of these words about fire. i suppose in damp countries it only really represents warmth and power and blow torches and stubble burning and things like that and it seems to be a word for britain so maybe it’s ok. here we’ve had weeks of unbroken sunshine and i’m starting to have kittens about the neighbour throwing his fag ends on what laughably might be called a lawn in front of our block. fire that’s out of control kills people.

    perhaps in God’s hands it’s talking about something like burning off old paint or something – i can cope with the idea of something hand held by God. or the gospel being able to move as freely as fire or water can. the NT pic of wildfire being set off by a spark of gossip from the tongue has happened in 3 different churches we’ve been in here. it’s terrible. it’s not burning off the old and redundant, it’s third degree burns on the body of christ. that’s why i’m concerned – is there an element of warning in the word too that we should be praying into? is there somewhere i can hear the original ? who gave it ?

  5. i posted a comment about fire. i’ve had a good think and pray.

    i have lived astraddle at least 2 languages and more cultures for nearly 20 years and have been in new church considerably longer. i have lots of reasons to be rather nit-picky about language and theology having seen as much damage as i have from carelessness.

    but in prophecy i realise that it is important to allow for the colloquial use of language.
    to spread like wildfire is a well recognised metaphor in british english.
    the use of fire as an image for revival is a common if perhaps theologically weak habit in “pentecostal” and “revivalist” type groups. there are some wonderful hymns including “send the fire” which the users understand to mean revival tho i would think it’s more precise to use it about purification.
    i am happy to sing those hymns along with the best of them and mean them with all my heart.

    i have also suffered from wishful thinking interpretation of prophecy which instead of being a helpful and quite specific warning was interpreted as a something vaguely nice and was left at that. a lot of heart ache could have been avoided. the words were absolutely clear looking in retrospect if we had taken the key words to heart.

    you may think i’m making too much of this. maybe i am. but i really really don’t want to miss out on what God is doing just cos i don’t quite understand the details. i want to still be an active part of praying it in and living it out. it really matters to me that we twig what God is up to, well maybe that’s being too ambitious, but at least be going up the right track. The living God has taken the effort to speak to us. It really matters what we do with it – none of you need me to say that !

    whether it is God saying his good news is going to spread smoothly and easily and fast, like wildfire; or whether he’s saying there will be a wave of purification of the church from what is evil and what is redundant (and there fore just holding us back); or a revelation of God’s glory in some way; or whether it is a warning to stamp of the tiniest spark of gossip; i will say my amen to all of those.

    i really appreciate all these blogs. i’m not sure if i’m on someone’s private blog at this minute or the perspectives group – still not sure how all this works, but i’m grateful to martin scott who is facilitating us being able to hear each other and contribute to each other. thank you to paul wood for having brought this subject up however indirectly. i also relate to a lot of what you are saying. we may, many of us, have walked what we thought were individual journeys but isnt it wonderful to find out that there has actually been lots of overlap :-)

    i witness to the fact that God is doing something new and that it could go either way. Lord have mercy. Lord help us. May your kingdom come, may your will be done …

  6. I think you are right, Liz, that words in prophecy provoke reaction, imagination and emotion. Maybe that’s more their purpose than to define. I’m sure I don’t think about words as deeply as you have. Fire is disturbing and dangerous and if it touches something changes its nature irreversibly. John Scotland once said, “If God sends the fire, don’t be surprised if all that’s left is ash.” He was referring to his own ‘ministry’. There’s probably been a lot of unthinking “send the fire” prayers, I’ve enthusiastically said them myself, and I’m glad God overlooked them.

  7. thanks paul.
    just read something helpful – someone mentioned following the pillar of fire. i can go for that . and i’ll have tongues of fire if there are any still on offer. i prayed for refiners fire – do you remember that lovely song ? and got far more than i bargained for !

    i think i’m being once bitten twice shy cautious about prophecy. it might be even more potent than we think. we think we’re getting a pussy cat and we get a lion !

  8. Love …..Chariots of Fire… …just the drums at the start send chills down my spine…dreams of being in the olympics, world x country champs………I still hear that sound track and watch the film and weep…… sport evokes such passion, such commitment and to see God glorified through his children in sport excites me more than I can ever express…….. When I run I feel God…. YAY GOD – !

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