Getting the Glory for Giving the Glory

If one year ago I told you that the two most talked about and tweeted sports figures for the 2011-12 seasons were Jeremy Lin of the NY Knicks and Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos, you would say I'd eaten too many pepto flavored Valentines hearts.  Let's face it - nobody saw this coming.  Tim Tebow, the guy that every sports analyst wrote off as a NFL quarterback, set the football world on its head with win after last second win.  By season's end, everyone was "Tebowing" and talking Tebow.  He set a twitter record and was one of the few athletes to ever stake the claim as the most talked about person in a given week.  And every time he was in front of a camera or mic, he gave glory first to his Savior and then to his teammates.  


Then there is Jeremy Lin (see my youtube video bar). He is an unsigned free agent from Harvard that has spent most of the NBA in the development league or the end of the bench. He is also the guy who everybody looked past and now everybody is wishing they hadn't.  The last GM that cut Lin said this week, "I have egg on my face."  And the former coach of the San Francisco University Basketball Team said, "maybe if I would have offered Jeremy a scholarship, I'd still have a job."  From out of nowhere, Jeremy Lin has taken the NBA by storm.  He scored more points in his first five games than any other player in history - including Michael Jordan.  After his latest triumph - a last second three to beat Toronto - he stepped up to the mic and thanked his teammates for bailing him out (after turning it over 8 times).  Then, he tweeted this: "Gutsy win...5 in a row! This team is so unselfish and has so much heart. Love playing with them! God is good!"  So much for the egotistical superstar.  


What's so surprising in all of this is not the unlikely rise to stardom for these two guys. Its that people are surprised that so many people are attracted to their selfless, gracious and humble attitudes.  People love to love on these guys because they love God and their team more than themselves.  Unfortunately, the biggest stars in sports often have it the other way around.  Who wants to cheer for that?  Best of all, their thanks to God is genuine.  They give him glory when they speak AND the way they play and live.  


Frankly, I'm not surprised that two underdogs with humble personalities and extraordinary faiths are dominating the attention of so many.  I think it's exactly what people are longing for in a hero.  And God found two faithful, obedient and talented men who were ready to get the glory for giving the glory.  I guess all I'm wondering is, "who's next?"