Bits and Pieces – 203rd Edition – August 11, 2024

     The Olympic Games in Paris are garnering a lot of attention at present, some good, and some not so good.  It was in Paris 1924 that one of the most devoted Christian actions took place.

     Eric Liddell was born in 1902 in China to missionary parents.  He came to Scotland to continue his education.  While there, his athletic ability surfaced. He was a talented sprinter and played rugby for the Scottish national team in 1922 and 1923.

     In athletics, he set a new British record for the 100-yard sprint in 1923 and was considered a good prospect for the Paris Olympics the following year.

     However, when he arrived in Paris, he discovered that his preliminary heats were to be run on Sunday.  This caused a problem for he was a committed Christian, and the thought of breaking the Lord’s Day was unthinkable.  So, he withdrew from the race thus forfeiting the chance to win a gold medal.  How many young Christians today would so honour the Lord, and his word?

     Liddell was slotted in for the 400-yard race later in the week.  The U.S. team masseur slipped him a note which read, “Them that honour Me I will honour” [1 Samuel 2:30].  Thus, encouraged he went out and won the gold medal.

     He later married a Canadian wife, and they went to China as missionaries, where he died in 1945.  His story is told in the film “Chariots of Fire.”

     Modern psychological teachers, and even some Christians, tell us not to dwell on the past but always to optimistically look forward.  There is a degree of sense in this, but it is certainly not scriptural.  For example, consider Psalm 78.

     This Psalm looks back to God’s dealing with His ancient people.  The Psalmist reminds them of the exodus and how the Lord led them through the sea [v13] and brought the plagues on Egypt [v44ff].  He relates other of God’s mighty works and tells them of their sinful rebellion against His commands and covenant.

     So, it is good to remind ourselves of God’s mighty works in our experience, and to count our blessings.  Indeed, it was failure to do this that caused“another generation” to be raised up “which knew not the Lord” [Judges 2:10].

     It is a good practice for Christians to recollect past blessings.  We can thank Him for past deliverances and be assured that the same God who so blessed us in the past will be with us in the present and the future.  This practice is also a wonderful antidote to depression.

     One of the great blessings of Christianity is to partake in the communion services where the saints remember the death of Jesus Christ, their Lord.  There are two basic elements, bread and wine, which remind us of the body and blood of our Lord [1 Cor. 11:23 ff].

     There is nothing magical about the bread and wine, but in their composition some great lessons are to be learned.

     BREAD. It speaks of the suffering and death of Christ. Bread starts off with wheat or some other grain.  It is sowed into the ground and dies [John 12:24], and a new crop grows.  The wheat is then reaped and milled. Jesus was crushed between the upper and nether  millstones of God’s wrath because of our sin.  The bread is then put in the oven.  Jesus bore the heat of our iniquity.  The bread is now eaten.  All these things speak of the suffering of Christ.

     WINE.  Speaks of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  The wine comes from grapes that are crushed.  So great was the crushing of Christ that He cried out, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Mark 15: 34].

     The wine also reminds us of the precious blood of Christ that was shed on the cross for our sins. May we never eat and drink as a matter of form but think deeply of the cost of our salvation.