Jeremy Lin giving God all the credit

Jose Calderon and Jeremy Lin during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Toronto Feb. 14. Photo by REUTERS/Mike Cassese

I have a little more self-control than Sportscenter, which means that half of the content on this blog will not be related to Jeremy Lin. But after sharing Monday what Lin’s success and character has meant to Asian Americans, in particular Asian American Christians, I had to mention this piece from the San Jose Mercury News. Here’s the headline that Lin’s hometown paper gave to this local boy done good: “Exclusive: Jeremy Lin says faith in God triggered ‘Lin-sanity’.”

Oh yes. Here’s an excerpt of that exclusive:

What the country sees is a Cinderella story, Lin’s meteoric rise from the NBA Development League to unstoppable star. But for Lin, it’s a story of faith, the beautiful struggle he’s now convinced he can win. Most importantly, it’s a story of how he’ll be completely fine if he doesn’t.

“I’m not playing to prove anything to anybody,” Lin said. “That affected my game last year and my joy last year. With all the media attention, all the love from the fans (in the Bay Area), I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove that I’m not a marketing tool, I’m not a ploy to improve attendance. Prove I can play in this league. But I’ve surrendered that to God. I’m not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore.”

It took some time, some rough nights, long prayers and countless Bible studies. Lin confided in his pastor, Stephen Chen.

“It was hard. I could make him no promises,” Chen said. “To trust what God is doing is definitely a lesson that Jeremy is continuing to learn and not to trust in his results.”

Read the rest here. His continues to be an incredible story—and not just for Asian Americans and not just for Christians.