A Find Rarer Than Diamonds

Posted on Sun 08 April 2012 in faith

So maybe diamonds aren't the rarest gemstone, but I couldn't very well title the post "A Find Rarer Than Tanzanite" and expect anyone to understand the idiom.

I found a professional athlete who could actually serve as a role model for youth! Check out this great article about A.C. Green, former basketball star for the Lakers. I've re-posted just a few paragraphs.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star A.C. Green became known as the NBA's "Iron Man" for playing in a record 1,192 straight games. 

Turns out he almost didn't play pro basketball at all. 

While visiting a former teacher in Hermiston, Ore., with 10 of his closest friends, the group decided to attend a nearby Christian church. After the service, the pastor and Green discussed his spiritual future and the prospect of being found in the Kingdom of God. The 17-year-old high school all-American, who had just received a full-ride scholarship to the number one basketball school in the country — Oregon State — had only one question: "Does this mean I don't play basketball anymore?"

Although he was willing to give up the game altogether, the pastor told him that wouldn't be necessary, as long as he honored the Lord through his game. However, Green's response showed the beginning of his "all chips in" approach to the Christian lifestyle. 

"There was no turning back for me," Green says. "Matthew 6:33: 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you' was just something I was dumb enough to believe was true. I told the Lord 'You redefine what it is that I am now as a man. You tell me who A.C. Green is. What people say and what you say are two different things and I need to know what it is that you say.'"