A hero with purpose

All through high school one of my favorite things to do was to read about Heros of the Faith. Some of my all time favorites are Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, and Hudson Taylor. But the one that sticks out the most in my mind when I think of purpose is Eric Liddell. If you’ve ever seen the movie chariots of fire you know his story.
Eric was a scot born in China as a missionary kid in the late 1800’s. He was called to be a missionary to china like his parents and sister before him but he also had another dream. Above anything else Eric loved to run. And he was good at it. His dream was to run for an Olympic medal. His sister Jenny thought he was getting is priorities mixed up and confronted him about it. She said he was drifting away from God. He said something to her in the movie in this amazing Scottish accent. Here’s the gist of it: “I know God made me for China, Jenny. But he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Eric went on to win the Olympic medal and lived the rest of his life as a missionary to the Chinese people with which his parents had ministered.
But that one statement has stuck with me. What is it that I do that when I do it I feel God’s pleasure? Is God proud of what I am doing with my life now? When He sees the work I’m doing does it make Him smile? Not to see how good I am but to see that what He has given me I am using to the best of my ability. What is it in our lives that God has given us to bring Him pleasure while doing it? Maybe for you it’s running, or cooking, or writing or playing sports, or a myriad of other things. When we discover what it is let’s purpose to live to feel God’s pleasure.