Athletes turn to Jesus

In the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell’s character speaks these famous words: “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure”.

And, whilst Liddell didn’t actually say them in real life, they encapsulate something beautiful about how we can give God glory through our sporting abilities.

Here in New Zealand, even non-rugby fans have heard of the All Blacks. In the world of Rugby, they are a legendary team. This is even more impressive when you consider they are selected from the relatively small population of 5 million people that make up New Zealand. Many people here are rugby mad, and they take their commitment to rugby to levels akin to worship.

However, in recent years, there have been some exciting developments within top-level professional sports here in Aotearoa (the Māori name for New Zealand, often translated as “land of the long white cloud”). Across all sports, there have been signs of a spiritual awakening, with more and more athletes turning to worship Jesus instead of their sport. I spoke to one of the team members at Athletes in Action, and they have seen Bible studies set up in multiple sports, including amongst the All Blacks camp.

A story that stands out is from a recent New Zealand Women’s Rugby under-20s training camp. One of the Christian girls, realising the camp would include a Sunday, asked some of her other Christian teammates if they wanted to meet to do an informal worship service. They decided to meet on Sunday morning and extended the invitation to their teammates. In the end, 13 girls turned up.

Amazingly, this isn’t an isolated case. In a profession that requires such focus and commitment, the pressure to perform is enormous. This is leading more athletes to question what life is really for, and if they don’t make the team, do they still have value? Just last week, in an Athletes in Action Bible study, they were thinking about injury and trusting God’s sovereignty and purposes in difficulties. The next day, one of the guys suffered a significant injury that looks likely to take him out of the game for a considerable time. How kind of the Lord to prepare his heart during the previous day’s study.

Eric Liddell famously took a stand for Jesus at the Paris 1924 Olympics when he wouldn’t run on a Sunday. What an encouragement it is to see more and more high-profile sportsmen and women taking a stand for Jesus, and showing the world that a life well lived is one that is lived to the glory of God.