At the conclusion of The Story of Eric Liddell - Olympic Champion, Man of Courage DVD, are the following thoughtful words:
"We enter the starting blocks of life not knowing the length of the race. Our life may be a sprint or a marathon. We are not told in advance. All we can decide is how we will run. Joseph Wheaton has observed that every life shares a common mark and he calls it “the dash between the dates.” On every tombstone whether ornate or simple, they put a single dash, a hyphen between the dates. The character and quality of our lives vary greatly, but when all is said and done, we become precisely equal; they put one dash between the birth date and the death date. We all get one dash through life; that’s it; no seconds, no restarts, and everybody finishes. The content of our dash varies, but in the end the workmen still chisel only a dash. It reminds us of the stark truth just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. In the end men, reduce all living to the cold mark on the stone. Those of us who live a life worthy of the Lord, following in the footsteps of Jesus, find the end of earth’s dash to be the beginning of heaven’s glory. Eric Liddell ran well and finished strong. He won a price much greater than his Olympic gold medal. You and I are still in the race."
From The Story of Eric Liddell - Olympic Champion, Man of Courage DVD produced by RBC Ministries. Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, ©2004.
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