The Faith and Fate of Jeremy Lin from Patheos website

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The following is excerpted from the Patheos article. To see more, including the video questions, check out the link at the end of this article.

As an Asian-American, this basketball phenom at Harvard is blazing a trail. As a Christian, he's striving to walk in faith.

An Interview with Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and led his basketball team at Palo Alto High School to the state championships in his senior year. At Harvard University, Lin has built a national following, has been hailed as one of the finest point guards in the nation, and stands poised to enter the NBA as a high draft pick and the first Asian-American to achieve prominence in the NBA.

Lin is among those receiving the highest number of votes for the Bob Cousy award, given annually to the nation's most effective point guard. He has been profiled in Time, Sports Illustrated and ESPN: The Magazine, as well as countless basketball magazines and newspapers from the United States to China.

Can you tell us about your faith background and how you got into basketball? Do you think that God called you onto the basketball court?

My faith and my basketball began separately, then slowly converged, and now they influence each other. But when I first started playing basketball, I was five years old, and my dad put a ball in my hands. Ever since I was a little kid, I just loved to play this game. I was always in the gym. I loved playing. That's what I did for fun, all the time.

At Harvard University, Lin has built a national following, has been hailed as one of the finest point guards in the nation, and stands poised to enter the NBA as a high draft pick and the first Asian-American to achieve prominence in the NBA.

Can you tell us about your faith background and how you got into basketball? Do you think that God called you onto the basketball court?

My parents also took me to church ever since I was a little kid. I grew up in the church, but I didn't really become a Christian until I was a freshman in high school. That's when the gospel really started to make sense to me and I was ready to give my life to God.

Then, Christianity didn't become a significant part of my approach to basketball until the end of my high school career and into college. That's when I began to learn what it means to play for the glory of God. My parents had often talked about it and told me that I should play for God's glory, but I never understood quite what that meant. That was something that really boggled my mind. My parents hadn't gone through what I was going through, being an Asian-American basketball player in America. I thought, "I want to do well for myself and for my team. How can I possibly give that up and play selflessly for God?"

Slowly, God revealed more to me. I started learning how to trust in Him, not to focus so much on whether I win or lose but to have faith that God has a perfect plan. For me to put more of an emphasis on my attitude and the way that I play, rather than my stats or whether we win a championship. I learned more about a godly work ethic and a godly attitude, in terms of being humble, putting others above yourself, being respectful to refs and opponents. There are really so many ways you can apply your faith to basketball.

Did you ever think, as a child, that you would be in this place, a top prospect for the NBA, in the running for the Bob Cousy award, given annually to the best point guard in the college game?

I didn't expect to play in college. Honestly, I didn't know if I was going to be able to play in high school. I was always one of the smallest guys. I went into high school at 5'3", 125 pounds, and every day I came home from practice asking my parents if I would grow taller.

So, physically, I was so far behind. I was just trying to make the varsity team, let alone play in college. I had no idea what God had in store for me.

That's why everyday, when I wake up and go to practice, I remind myself to be grateful that I have been so blessed. I could try to take credit for whatever success I've had, but honestly I see my basketball career as a miracle. That puts things into perspective for me.

How does your faith shape the way you behave on the court? Are you a different basketball player because you are a Christian?

Not just in basketball, but I think in life, when you're called to be a Christian, you're automatically called to be different from everyone else. In today's world of basketball, it makes you really different, because the things that society values aren't necessarily in line with what God values.

Much of it comes down to humility. We as Christians are called to be humble. And if we really understand the gospel, we will be humble. We should be humble, and understand that everything that is good comes from God.

We are also called to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. There are times on the basketball court when people will say things to you, and you just have to bite your tongue and love them. It's almost as though you have to love then even more, and that love means more if they're wronged you.

Society focuses so much on individual stats and wins and losses. To a certain extent, you can control those things. But to play for God means to leave the records and the statistics up to Him and give your best effort and allow God to figure out whether you win or lose, whether you play or shoot the ball well that game. So I just try to make sure that I work hard and in a godly way. I prepare myself as well as I can, and at every point during the game I try to submit myself to God and let Him use me.

Everyone who steps on a basketball court will hear taunts and insults. Yet racial slurs are another matter, and you have had to confront them regularly throughout your career, as the first Asian-American to reach this level. Do you find it particularly difficult to respond in grace when racial slurs are used?

I'm naturally competitive and cocky. I love proving people wrong. I love competing. When I first started hearing those remarks, I would always want to say something back, or to play well to get them back. As I grew older, I realized that I shouldn't allow that stuff to effect me, and at the same time I shouldn't retaliate. I shouldn't say anything back. So at this point, now, this year, it hasn't really bothered me. It's just something I'm used to now, and it's a good opportunity to reflect the grace of God when you don't say anything back, or when you're really respectful in return. That says something powerful.

We've talked about how your faith shapes your approach to basketball. But how has basketball shaped your faith? Has God used basketball to shape your character, to teach you, to strengthen you?

Absolutely. I've learned so many things through basketball, and God has really molded me and tested and affirmed my faith through basketball. Given my experiences, if I look back at everything that's happened, it's hard for me not to trust God and know that he has a perfect plan for me.

In a sense, it's easy for me. Since I've been given so much through basketball, it's easier for me to be thankful to God. But at the same time, basketball has humbled me a great deal. The more I play, the more I realize that the outcome is less up to me, and there's less I can control.

But there's so much more, so many lessons God has taught me through basketball-everything from pride to self-control to worth ethic and love and unselfishness.

You mention humility. How could it be that God has used basketball to humble you, when you've achieved so much? Wouldn't your basketball successes only make you more prideful?

No, it really is humbling. You might be able to relate to this, since you were a gymnast. There are times when I'm out there on the basketball court and it feels like I'm not even controlling my own body. It's almost as though someone else is using me as a puppet. There are things I do, that, when I look at them afterwards, I wonder how I did that. In moments like that, I realize that there is something more to what's happening around me, something supernatural about it.

It's also humbling in another way. When I won that state championship with Palo Alto High School, well, we would talk about winning the title. Deep down inside, though, you're not fully expecting the victory because only one team in the entire state can win it. So, to be able to be there at that point in that tournament, to have that opportunity, I was, more than anything, just grateful. There were so many things that had to happen just perfectly. Tiny differences could have taken us out of contention for a championship.

The other reason that athletic success can be humbling is because, even after you win a state championship, it's not as fulfilling as you had thought it would be. That's humbling, too, and it says something about the way we chase after materialistic and worldly things.

For most of your life, you have belonged to Asian-American churches and fellowships. Do you draw some of your strength and inspiration from them?

I definitely feel their support and their prayer, and I am very, very grateful for it. It's overwhelming at times. I'm blown away by it, and I'm still happy that people support me like that. But I've struggled with whether it should give me extra motivation to play. From my experience, I've realized that I can't play for anybody else, because I don't think that's how the game should be played.

Last year, when the media attention was starting to grow around me, I felt as though I had to play well just to please everyone else. It was a great burden, and it took the joy out of the game for me. See, the truth is that I can't even play for myself. The right way to play is not for others and not for myself, but for God. I still don't fully understand what that means; I struggle with these things every game, every day. I'm still learning to be selfless and submit myself to God and give the game up to Him. It's a challenge, but thankfully I'm learning more and more.

Still, much of the media attention focuses on the fact that you are not just a basketball player, but an Asian-American basketball player. Is that a large part of the way you think about yourself, as well?

It definitely is a major part of my identity. But I don't see it as my whole identity. I belong to other groups as well. My basketball friends are largely non-Asian. I don't like to only associate myself with one group exclusively. But I do feel like the Asian-American community is a big part of my identity, and has been since my childhood.

Do you feel that you bear the pressure of tens of thousands of young Asian-American males, who are hoping that you will help to shatter the stereotype?

I don't feel the burden, just because I think at this point I'm not playing for others. That might sound rude, I guess, but it's the truth. I'm not working hard and practicing day in and day out so that I can please other people. My audience is God.

At the same time, I understand that there are kids who will look up to me, and I have a duty to be a godly role model. So in some sense, I don't play for them, but in another sense I do try to carry myself in a way that reflects God's image.

Yet you would be pleased if your success in the college -- and hopefully the professional -- ranks helped to shatter negative stereotypes of Asian males?

I would be pleased. Absolutely, I would be pleased.

Also see Patheos' new Faith and Sports Portal for more stories of faith and sport.

For more articles like this, see the Evangelical Portal, or the series on faith and gymnastics produced by Timothy Dalrymple.

Dr. Timothy Dalrymple is the Associate Director of Content at Patheos, and writes weekly on faith, politics, and culture for Patheos' Evangelical Portal. Follow him at his blog,Philosophical Fragments, on Facebook or on Twitter.