Archive for February 17th, 2012

Confession, I have joined the ranks of Jeremy Lin fans. But no, I haven’t seen any of his games, just a few videos. I’ve just read and read a lot about him. It’s really an amazing story, huh? In a league of super stars and multimillion dollar paychecks, there’s this player in there who gets minimum wage and was deemed so insignificant that he just kept on being passed on from one team to another. The reasons for which his coach even sent him out to the court are not even all that flattering– they were just THAT desperate. With all that baggage, it would be understandable if Lin had just begrudgingly done his day’s work, show up and just keep the ball going. But Lin didn’t. He threw off all the baggage from all those years of rejection and played. His. Heart. Out. And it was marvelous. It was so inspiring that it revived a basketball franchise that everybody else was nearly giving up on. Fans showed up and cheered for their team again. Even fans of other teams cheered for the Knicks because of Lin! People who don’t normally watch basketball (me) are cheering for Lin.

Why?!

I mean, basketball fans, I can understand, but after only two weeks and seven consecutive wins, he’s got the world (at least the parts of it with internet and isn’t at war or famine) watching and cheering him on. What is it about this kid that makes us connect to him?

My guess is hope.

And hope come from character, which comes from perseverance, which comes from suffering (Romans 5:3-6), and everyone in this world, in our own way, knows about suffering. From the baby who just got out of the warmth of his mother’s womb and just rudely pushed out into the cold and bright world (no wonder babies cry when they get out), to old people who are slowly breathing their last, suffering and struggle are there all the way. And this is true for EVERYONE, Christian or not, living in developed countries or not. Some suffer more than others, of course, but what keeps us going and pushing, straining against the tension, even fighting against quitting? It is hope. Hope that this too shall pass. Hope that we can get over it. Hope that tomorrow will be better. Hope that there is reward when all the struggling is over. Even the most despondent of people can open their eyes and keep on breathing. Most of us still get off the bed even if we don’t feel like it. Bridges are finished. Work gets done. Fat is exercised away and muscles are built. Games are won. Our mothers still love us.

Just as we cheer whenever someone like Lin pushes and shines through his suffering through perseverance, we feel that it is a tragedy whenever someone gives up. Suicides, euthanasia, quitting, breakups, divorces are all tragic because it means that someone has let go of hope. Of course, hope, perseverance, character and suffering are all measured differently in each person so we can’t– and shouldn’t compare. We can only encourage each other to go on, to keep moving forward, and to never give up hope. Whatever hope that they may hold on to. Our hope is the kind that never fails or puts us to shame (it’s Jeremy Lin’s brand of hope too!) because of God’s love that has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us through Jesus Christ. This is the hope that the world needs, our perseverance through sufferings, and the joy that we have despite all evidence contrary speaks volumes in a world desperate for this fuel that they need to never give up.