The surprising legacy of Eric Liddell : Steve Metcalf and Christianity in Japan

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OMF International

OMF worker John Orme reflects on how the Paris Olympics this year reminded him of a wonderful link to the Paris Olympics 100 years earlier and the famous sprinter-turned-missionary Eric Liddell:

Serving in mission in rural Japan sometimes seems a slow and frustrating experience. It can take years of patient service to begin to see how the Lord is moving and how He is producing fruit. Working in rural northern Japan over the last eight years, we have felt these frustrations very keenly at times!

But the Lord is working in these tough areas and has been for many years, sometimes in ways we do not see so easily!

The Lord has recently encouraged us through the upcoming Olympic games. As we have seen the ads and campaigns, we have been reminded of our Japanese friend Haruna.

When Haruna graduated from university, she moved to the very rural corner of Japan we had been serving in. A new Christian, she brought a fresh and enthusiastic spirit to the small and tired church and the Lord has been using her to bring his love and saving grace to others too.

Picking up the baton of forgiveness

It is 100 years since the Olympics were last held in Paris. In the 1924 Paris Olympics, Eric Liddell won Gold in the 400m, a story made famous by the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. Following his Olympic victory, Liddell followed the Lord’s call to China as a missionary teacher. During the Second World War, Eric was interned by the Japanese Imperial army along with other missionaries and the students from the China Inland Mission’s boarding school.

One of these students was Steve Metcalf (1927-2014). Steve had been so impressed and influenced by Liddell’s seeking to love his enemies, the Japanese, that when Liddell passed away in the camp, Steve promised the Lord that he would become a missionary to Japan if he survived the war.

In his biography with Ronald Clements, In Japan the Crickets Cry, Steve recalled:
‘The final resting-place of this renowned athlete was an obscure comer of a foul prison camp, marked by a crude cross with his name written on it in shoe-blacking.

“Is this all?” I asked myself. “Is this all that happens to such a great man?” There seemed a futility in his death that belied his contribution to life.

Between us, we picked up the jobs Eric had left behind.

There at the graveside I also picked up the baton he had held – the baton of forgiveness.

I told God that if I made it out of the camp alive, I would go to Japan as a missionary.’

A surprising thread of grace

Following the war, Steve came to Japan as an OMF missionary, evangelising and planting churches in many areas, including the small town we have been serving in. While here Steve was introduced to a young bookstore clerk by his Shogi (Japanese chess) partner. He shared with this young man and over time the young clerk came to faith, was baptised and determined to become a pastor.

This young pastor went on to serve in a number of churches, he married and raised his family to follow Jesus. His daughter was also called into ministry. First, she became a missionary to Taiwan, then returned to pastor a church in Tokyo. She, too, married and raised her family to follow Jesus, sending her own daughter to International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo.

Haruna met the pastor’s daughter while they were both studying at ICU. She invited Haruna along to church, and through their friendship Haruna came to faith and was baptised shortly before graduating from university, moving north and joining in our small, rural church plant.

Through this 100-year thread, we can see how the Lord has been at work to bring His gospel to this corner of rural Japan. It is a thread that did not start with Eric Liddell, but extends back through those who shared with, nurtured and discipled him. Nor does it end with Haruna, but is already extending beyond her as she shares her faith and sees others respond to follow Jesus. And, of course, this is only one small thread in a web that began with Christ and is extending into all corners of his creation.

John Orme
OMF Japan