Made for a Purpose

In the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, Scottish runner Eric Liddell faces an agonizing choice. His sister Jenny fears his passion for running is pulling him away from his true calling — missionary work in China. In a windswept field above Edinburgh, Eric turns to her and says something that has echoed through the decades: "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

That single sentence captures something profound about how purpose works. Eric wasn't choosing between God and running — he was discovering that both were part of the same call. His speed wasn't a distraction from his mission; it was a door into it. His athletic gift became a platform for his faith, demonstrated most powerfully when he refused to race on Sunday at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He switched to the 400 meters — a race he'd barely trained for — and won gold.

Many of us live as though purpose is a single, narrow path — and we're terrified we've missed it. But Eric Liddell's life suggests something richer: that the Almighty weaves purpose into the very fabric of who we are. Our gifts aren't accidents. Our passions aren't detours.

Where do you feel God's pleasure? That deep joy — that sense of being fully alive in what you're doing — may be pointing you toward the very work the Most High designed you for all along.