The Return of Linsanity?

Near the end of his life and ministry, the apostle Paul is emphatic in his charge to Timothy in 2nd
Timothy chapter 4:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

There is the notion of readiness here - Paul tells Timothy essentially to be ready at all times to preach the word.  He also reminds him that the truth will not always be received in the right way.  We are called to be faithful, no matter what opposition we encounter - sometimes that opposition will be direct human effort, other times it will be negative external circumstances.   But, we can depend on the Lord to shape our perspective, to give us clarity, and to produce strength in our spirits.

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As the book of Hebrews nears its close, we find these words in chapter 13:
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Don't look now, but Lin-sanity is back.

That's right - but can you name the team for which Jeremy Lin plays?

He is with the Charlotte Hornets, and he scored 21 last night in a winning effort for Michael Jordan's team to bring what is called Buzz City into a 2-2 tie in their opening round against Miami with an 89-85 victory, according to Fox Sports.

According to a story on the CNSNews.com website, Lin had received wide acclaim during his 2012 season with the New York Knicks. Coming off the bench, Lin led the team on a seven game winning streak and into the playoffs, igniting what fans called “Linsanity.” The Knicks lost in the first round to the Miami Heat.

The story cited two recent tweets: in one, he quoted Psalm 37:5: Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. After his team's victory last Saturday, Lin tweeted #PraiseGod.

The CNSNews report quotes a Forbes story, which relates that Lin has over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube with over 50 million views. The 27-year-old player has over 3 million Facebook fans, and the author, Mark J. Burns, says that, “according to MVPindex, which calculates athletes’ follower counts, engagement and online sentiment into an index score, Lin currently ranks in the top five among NBA players, with the likes of James, recently-retired star Kobe Bryant and 2015 MVP, Stephen Curry.”

On Instagram Lin is one of the top 30 most-followed NBA players.

Burns writes that faith plays a key role in Lin’s popularity: “There’s a ‘Christian element’ to a lot of what Lin posts, whether it’s a faith verse, a moral cause he supports or a particular value he strives to exhibit in his daily life.”

Jeremy Lin was also featured in a 2013 documentary called, Linsanity.  A Plugged In review of the film says:

Linsanity shows what Jeremy himself believes was a miraculous happening—how an undrafted basketball player went from being cut by two NBA teams and sitting on the bench of a third, to a player in February 2012 who in his first five NBA starts scored more points than any other player in the modern era and created a legitimate public frenzy.

This inspiring documentary takes viewers back in time to get a bit of perspective. For instance, during his senior year, Jeremy helped his Palo Alto high school team win the state basketball title in stellar fashion. And yet none of the major colleges came a courtin'. It was said Jeremy didn't fit the mold. So he took advantage of his one offer and went to Harvard, not exactly a school known for its hoops success. At Harvard, Jeremy's story should have ended if life had played out in typical fashion. Quite frankly, it almost did. Which may be the whole point of the movie. As Jeremy says repeatedly, "I know God orchestrated this whole thing." It's obvious that Jeremy's faith comes before basketball, and yet helps him find purpose in the sport as well.

Admittedly, I had lost track of where Jeremy was in the NBA.  According to NBA.com, he departed New York for Houston, and then went to the Lakers before coming to Charlotte last season.

Plenty of inspiration you can gather from this young man.  For one thing, his story is one of perseverance.  He was unrecruited out of high school, except for Harvard.  And, he was undrafted out of college.  But, he kept playing - kept doing what he was called to do, and believes that God was orchestrating it all.  That's a great word for us - we may not be receiving recognition, we may not believe we are where we need to be, but if we keep trusting the Lord, we can be assured that He is working His plan according to His time.

There's also the element of being prepared when we are called.  Lin was a benchwarmer for the Knicks until his number was called and the rest is history.   We have to make sure that we are pursuing our vocation with passion and develop our skills, trusting in the Lord, so that when our number is called, sort of speak, we can respond in faith and with excellence.  And, remember, there is no such thing as insignificance in the Kingdom of God.