Jordan - The Mortal

Throughout Michael Jordan’s career, starting from his game-winning shot as a Tar Heel at North Carolina in the 1982 NCAA National Championship game to the game-winning shot in game 6 at Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals, he was labeled a “force of nature,” the “most fierce competitor” and to many “the greatest of all-time.” Even his nickname, “His Airness,” commanded respect and relevance. The further away we go from his playing days, it seems the more his legacy grows. I do not recall any other athlete with the same mystique as Jordan.

I remember watching Michael throughout the 90’s in the NBA Finals and just being in complete awe (and yes a little mad after he destroyed my Lakers in 91’). He is known for his drive as well as his ability. There are so many talented and athletic individuals in today’s game but no one has the same drive to win or was as ruthless as MJ when it came to competing. His ability to bring that passion and drive to every single game throughout the course of his career was astounding.


Yesterday he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. As I was watching all of the highlights, accolades, and accomplishments by a man who dominated his sport like few athletes have in this lifetime a few thoughts went through my mind. In Jordan’s interview with Michael Wilbon, Jordan admitted that he was not ready for this honor because it felt so “finite,” an end to something that he will always love, the game of basketball. I thought about what made so many people admire him, myself included.

If there’s anything that bothers me as a fan it is when a player doesn’t play hard all the time. Sadly, there are several players in today’s game who fit that profile. I can understand that fatigue and the travel can make it difficult to play at times, but that’s their primary responsibility. They get paid millions so they don’t have to worry about anything else. Jordan never had that problem. He brought it every night.

Then I thought about the great heroes of the faith whom I admire. The John Pipers of the world, missionaries like Hudson Taylor and Jim Elliot, people that moved church history like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin and even my current pastors Erik Thoennes and David Talley at Grace EV Free La Mirada, just to name a few. I started to think why I admire these people and why I aspire to follow Jesus faithfully in the same manner. The reason why they are my heroes is because they applied the same fire and passion that Jordan has for the game of basketball toward serving God with their lives. They are consistent and bring that passion everyday. The difference is that living for the glory of God is not finite but infinite. There will be no end to our relationship with God and our constant and growing sense of awe of who He is from now to eternity.

There are days where I don’t feel like reading my Bible or praying. There are days where I should be paying more attention to my wife instead of indulging myself in self-pity when I don’t get what I want. In those instances, I have become the player that floats through games and have allowed fatigue to lead to complacency. Unlike the professional basketball players who are being paid millions of dollars to play the game of basketball, my life has been paid by the blood of Christ in order to serve Him fully. What is my excuse?

For Jordan, it was clear that it’s difficult to let go of the past and Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo sports pointed that out here. Yes, there is a human side to Jordan. Despite all of his accomplishments, I saw a man that was discontent and even a little bitter, which leads me to believe that he is still unsatisfied. As Christians, we will be satisfied throughout eternity because there is nothing finite about loving the Lord with everything in you, for "our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee . . . "