Jeremy Lin, the undrafted Harvard graduate who wants to become a pastor, emerged almost overnight when his off-the-bench performance on Feb. 4th led the New York Knicks to beat the New Jersey Nets. Because of this, some have hinted that America has not lost Tim Tebow: He has only acquired a Taiwanese manifestation. In an interview following a game versus the Utah Jazz, Lin thanks “Jesus Christ, my Lord and savior for giving me this opportunity.”
While we can’t know whether Lin will carry on Tebow’s explicitly evangelical witness to an industry that exhibits little to no religious expression, it is clear that Tebow is a motivation for Lin’s own religious expression: “Actually a lot of inspiration comes just because [Tebow’s] such a polarizing figure but I think the things he says in interviews, his approach to the game is just unbelievable and I respect him so much.” From his Twitter account :
“God is good during our ups and our downs! Glad we got the win!! . . . ”
“Awesome church service to start 2012! My new years resolution: love God more deeply and imtimately by dec 31 than I did on jan 1”
“Psalm 46:10 — He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Whether one cares much for sports, loud and proud boasts of religious enthusiasm, or least of all Twitter, there is something worthwhile going on here. And being the target for plenty of ridicule and the butt of numerous late-night personality’s jokes is a negligible side-effect compared to the value of Tebow and Lin making transparency about serious religious commitments more normal.
