Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin said that he's become increasingly convicted regarding the "urgency of evangelism" amid the "scary" reality that many people are "lost souls" who will "spend eternity in condemnation."
In an email sent to his digital prayer group titled, "Jeremy Lin Prayer Requests 36," the Christian athlete revealed that lately, the Bible passage Luke 16:19-31 has been "heavy" on his heart. In the passage, Jesus tells a parable about a very rich man and a very poor man whose circumstances are reversed after they die. The poor man, Lazarus, reaped eternal rewards in heaven after death, while the rich man, who lived a life of lavishness and disregarded the poor, suffered the torments of hell.
"I encourage everyone to read this passage and to think about your family members, close friends, co-workers, peers or even strangers as the rich man in this passage," Lin said.
"I've been more convicted to further see everyone as a potential lost soul who will spend eternity in condemnation," he continued. "That's a very scary thought! Please check this passage out because it really puts a stronger conviction and urgency on evangelism, as well as living our earthly lives chasing eternal things."
Lin asked his fans to pray that in the coming year, he'll be a "radical steward" of the wealth that God has blessed him with.
"He's been convicting me recently to put more effort into learning how I can best use money to further God's kingdom," he said.
The athlete went on to ask for prayer for continued recovery of his body following his knee surgery in October.
"As I progress in my rehab, I will be focusing on also tweaking some of my previous movement patterns to become more efficient, so please pray that this goes smoothly and that I'm a fast learner haha."
As reported, the NBA star earlier this year teamed up with two Asian-based charities, One Day's Wages, whose objective is to raise awareness regarding girl's education, and the Hug Project in Chiang Mai in northwest Thailand.
In June, Eugene Cho, a pastor and humanitarian leader for One Day's Wages, posted a photo of himself and Lin walking through one of the red light districts in Bangkok where 10,000 sex workers, many of them children, are exploited on a daily basis. Both of their faces express horror at the circumstances surrounding them.
"We've been traveling throughout Thailand this past week and learning the various nuances, challenges and complexities around girls' empowerment ... patriarchy, poverty, trafficking, education, government, law enforcement, and the list goes on," Cho revealed.
"Earlier this week, we walked through one of the red light districts in Bangkok where on any given night, there are 10,000 sex workers. I've been here several times before but it's still as heavy and painful. Many of these sex workers are from rural areas, the hill tribes, and migrants from neigboring [sic] countries."
The pastor added, "I'm deeply appreciative of Jeremy and his team for joining me this week. Grateful for the various NGOs that hosted us to share their passion and heartaches. Can't wait to share more as I make my way back home."
On Twitter, Lin shared Pastor Cho's photo with the simple caption: "This trip changed my perspective foreal."
In his Instagram post, Cho expressed admiration for Lin's willingness to help a hurting world -- despite his successful NBA career and busy training schedule.
"We talked about taking a trip together but I honestly didn't think his team would follow through," Cho admitted. "Not that I questioned their heart but his schedule is crazy and he's constantly training. Add my schedule - even without training. But by God's grace, it happened."
In October, One Day's Wages (ODW) announced its partnership with Lin for the current, 2016-2017 NBA season.
"Millions of girls across the globe are unable to get the education they need to provide for themselves and their families. This is due to unaffordable school fees, forced child marriage, lack of sanitary products when they reach puberty, and many other barriers. My hope is to shed some light on these issues, and invite you to join me in taking action," Lin wrote on the One Day's Wages website.
