Maybe basketball needs the same kind of revolution. I’m no scout, but I would imagine much of the criteria has much to do with raw talent, athleticism, and size. But how many players get overlooked in the process?  This is precisely why the story of Jeremy Lin is so compelling. Nobody, with the exception of Asian American circles knew who he was and where he came from until last week. Out of all the player commentary, I think Kobe Bryant said it best:

“Players don’t usually come out of nowhere. If you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning, but no one ever noticed. … It is a great story. It is a testament to perseverance and hard work. It is a good example to kids everywhere.”

No one ever noticed…

Someone asked me yesterday why this story resonates so much with me. I love basketball, but what has happened is more than just basketball. It speaks to every person who has ever been overlooked. But for Asian Americans, I suspect that the story resonates even deeper because in many respects, being overlooked has almost become an identity for many of us whether it’s in the workplace or broader society. So when someone like Jeremy Lin pushes through the barriers and finally gets noticed on such a huge platform, there’s a collective sense of validation that our stories exist. Mainstream media dictates the terms of how we are defined and represented so its refreshing for this story to speak for itself. His story is being told, and for once, I identify with it.

Jack Miller, to a young husband and wife couple, March 1987:

Grow in your daily humility and you will become more effective in winning the lost. There is a beautiful harmony here. When our lives are empty of self and pride, we are freed to be ourselves. We are not under an iron law of duty, but acting and thinking and feeling as we were meant to by our Creator. In the enjoyment of that wholeness, we become attractive to sinners.

–The Heart of a Servant Leader: Letters From Jack Miller (P&R, 2004), 235

It may make sense to me, but it’s far from easy.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”  James 4:8

How can we draw near to God in 2012?  Let me propose two ways, consistent with the gospel.  They are not heroic.  They only require faith and honesty.

One, at those very places in our lives where we are the most sinful, the most defeated, let’s face it and admit it.  Whatever view we take of Romans 7, surely every one of us can say, “I do not understand my own actions” (Romans 7:15).  And beyond admitting the impasse which we thought that, by now, we’d have grown past, let’s trust God to love us at that very point in our existence.  It is his way.  God loves grace into us (Owen, Works, II:342).  Let’s open up.  If Jesus is a wonderful Savior in every way except where we are the most hypocritical, then he is no Savior for us.  But the truth is, he draws near to broken sinners who own up.  What if we saw, in our very sins, the nearness of God awaiting us with greater mercy than we have ever known before?

Two, let’s confess our sins to one another and pray for one another.  No one grows in isolation.  We grow in safe community.  Sadly, such an experience is rare in our churches.  It should be common among us gospel people.  It should be our lifestyle.  We should be obvious, even scandalous, as friends of sinners.  But so often, someone must break the ice.  I see no revival in our future without a new culture of confession.  Personally, I have found a good way to measure my own honesty is the level of my embarrassment.  If I’m not embarrassed by my confession, I’m still holding out.  But it is freeing to come clean with a brother or sister and receive the ministry of prayer (James 5:16).  What if in 2012 we were, to one another, unshockable friends, down on our knees together, not judging one another but praying for one another?  Surely God’s nearness would be there.

I’m hoping and praying that we are experiencing this kind of grace in our community. If you’re not in a growth group, consider it. If you’re in one, let’s aspire to be “graced” by God and each other.

But despite the coming out party for Jeremy Lin, I have a low grade annoyance by the reception he’s received. I’ve read scores of articles and commentaries, but this post, “Jeremy Lin and the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations”  by Timothy Dalrymple helped me put a finger on it. What do you think?

Before the conference started, I had a few hours to burn so I went to visit an old friend to wish him an early birthday. Man, I miss him.

There is a release of God’s power when control is surrendered to the Spirit of Christ.

This is not a matter of mere feeling but of faith relying on the word of Christ. Get down on your knees in prayer and then get up and take the risk of humbling yourself by apologizing to that brother or sister you have sinned against. Is not such a liberating act a giving up of your own defensive will? Or go to a friend and say, “I have such a critical spirit and a loose tongue. Will you pray for me?”

Here we have the beginnings of a deep surrender.

–The Heart of a Servant-Leader: Letters from Jack Miller (P&R, 23004), 93

Like myself, today’s twentysomethings were raised to find our dreams and follow them. But it’s a different world. And as the jobless generation grows up, we realize the grand betrayal of the false idols of passion. This philosophy no longer works for us, or at most, feels incomplete. So what do we do? I propose a different frame of reference: Forget about finding your passion. Instead, focus on finding big problems. Putting problems at the center of our decision-making changes everything. It’s not about the self anymore. It’s about what you can do and how you can be a valuable contributor. People working on the biggest problems are compensated in the biggest ways. I don’t mean this in a strict financial sense, but in a deeply human sense. For one, it shifts your attention from you to others and the wider world. You stop dwelling. You become less self-absorbed. Ironically, we become happier if we worry less about what makes us happy.

Even though it’s written for a secular audience, I think he’s on to something. For the Christ-follower however, it’s tying our calling to the things that God is passionate about. It very well may be connected to the big problems of the world. There’s one song that Mayline referenced from the song, “Hosanna”:

“Heal my heart and make me clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am is for your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”

In the end, it’s discovering what God is passionate about and letting His passion be your passion. We need to be attentive to his Word that reveals His heart. But we also must be attentive to the world around us to see what God might want to do through us. At some point, you need to put yourself out there and take risks in order to see what sticks, and what doesn’t. These days, I’m trying to be guided by this thought:

“Better to do mission and fail than fail to do mission altogether”

Since I tend to be risk averse, I miss out on all sorts of opportunities that are around me. But when I do step out in faith, I never regret doing it. I might not always “succeed”, but that’s never the point. The point is to be faithful and to plant seeds in people’s hearts. In time, something will grow.

When the Children’s Hospital checked me in to the ER as Justin’s parent, I was initially impressed by their high tech check in system until I looked closer at my mug shot.

This week I saw a list of answers to this question: What do you regret about this past year? Here are some answers: I regret thinking more money is all I need. I regret believing this would finally be the Cubs’ big year. I regret not spending time with my lonely neighbor. I regret the date nights with my wife I didn’t take. I regret my apathy in worship. I regret being held back by human opinions of me. I regret missing times with God but not missing my show on TV. I regret every minute I gave to pornography. I regret trying to hide my sins from others. I regret the person I’ve become.

I wonder what your regret is. I know mine. But sometimes we don’t see our biggest failing. All the regrets I’ve just read lie at the surface. And there is a deeper reason why we act these ways. The deeper reason is this. We do not savor God’s love for us. Of course, if someone asked us, Does God love you?, we’d all give the right answer. But savoring his love, enjoying his love, drawing strength from his love, especially when we see how sinful we are – that’s different. All our problems stem from this – not believing and receiving the love of God for the undeserving. I am calling you today to enter 2012 with this declaration: “I will let God love me and save me.” There’s a New Year’s Resolution for you! Every day of 2012, rather than try to make God love me, I will let God love me, because he does – for the sake of Christ.

HT (Ray Ortlund Jr. via Dane Ortlund)