I  write a short piece for the bulletin at my home church- Bethel Lutheran, this is what will appear this coming Sunday....

I love the movie “Chariots of Fire”.   The story of Eric Liddell’s 1924’s Olympic experience grabs at your heart and doesn’t let go.  Eric Liddell is to run the 100 meter sprint but refuses to participate in his heat due to the race occurring on Sunday, which he felt was a breaking of the Sabbath.  He withdrew from the race.  He went to worship that day and preached on Isaiah 40 “they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength”.  

            We may dismiss this story as a quaint testimony from a by-gone time.  Please don’t.  Every generation, every family, needs to come to terms with these questions.  Whose drum beat are we marching to?  Who is leading this family?  If our government tells us how to worship will we obey?  If our friends make it uncomfortable for us will we continue to follow Jesus?  If our traveling team takes us away from corporate worship will we forgo gathering with our church family?   

            I cannot answer for you or your family.  I know that drift and apathy are natural to our soul.  We feel its pull, much like the constant current in a river that looks smooth, we can easily find ourselves pulled along by unseen forces.  Play the “what if” game.  Propose scenarios to your family and ask them what they will do and why.  Point one another to a gospel based response. “God, who rescued us, calls us to follow him- how do we live in line with His call?”