LinSanity

The city of New York is going crazy. They call it “LinSanity.” The cause? A professional basketball player named Jeremy Lin. Lin was not recruited by a collage out of high school and he was undrafted out of college into the NBA. But a few weeks ago he was picked up by the New York Knicks. He’s been a phenomenon ever since.

For example on February 4^th he scored 25 points with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. The next game he put up 28 points with 8 assists. On the 6^th he scored 38 points for a victory over the Lakers. The night before Valentine ’s Day he finished the game with 27 points and a game winning 3 pointer with less than a second left in the game. This past Sunday, on national TV, he scored 28 points and had a career high 13 assists as the Knicks beat the Mavericks. You get the idea why he is so popular.

 But here is what really makes this young man great. He said “God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display His supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.” Stop! Read that line again, please. And he adds the following about his treasuring Jesus Christ more than mere basketball success.

 “When Paul wrote in Philippians to press on for an upward prize [in Christ - Philippians 3:12], he was living for that, and it made his life meaningful. And I realized I had to learn to do the same. I had to learn to stop chasing the perishable prizes of this earth, I had to stop chasing personal glory, I had to learn how to give my best effort to God and trust him with the results. I have to learn to have enough faith to trust in his grace and to trust in his sovereign and perfect plan. I had to submit my will, my desires, my dreams — give it all up to God and say, ‘Look, I am going to give my best effort, go on the court and play every day for you, and I'm going to let you take care of the rest.’ This is something I struggle with every day. . . . Playing for great stats is nice, but that satisfaction — that happiness — is only from game to game. It's temporary.”

 Jeremy Lin is pursuing true happiness by living to bring glory to God and Christ when he plays basketball. He is doing his best in all of life and leaving the rest to God. And the wonderful truth is that the grace of God that is at work in Jeremy is at work in every Christian. Jesus Christ said, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all [that you need] shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33). He also said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).” We don’t have to play professional basketball like Jeremy Lin to have the impact that he is having. We simply need to be as committed to living for God as he is.