Basketball "Dribbles" some Truth

The phone rang and a voice said, "hi, this is John and we have never met." Where was the phone call taken you ask, and who was John? I will tell you but first things first.
The phone call was made to a small Bible college that few have ever heard of. The business manager and the school leadership decided that they needed to develop an athletic program that would help put the school on the map.
Football was the obvious choice. They soon discovered however that football is quite expensive to develop and maintain. So they went the basketball route.
The Lord seemed to affirm their decision because a great Christian coach agreed to sign on and build a program. Recruiting would be tough because of a lack of history and a lack of a bank full of money for scholarships.
Back to the phone call. The caller said, "hi this is John and we have never met. I've followed basketball for a long time, and....I love your school...I know your new coach." He went on to say he had seen a very gifted kid that could be an all-American but everyone had overlooked him. He asked if the coach might want to meet this young student. Of course, the new coach agreed and signed him to play, along with a couple of his friends. I do not know the players name but the team won a lot of games for a new program. I do know the name of the caller. His name of John Wooden who had coached UCLA to 10 national championships. those NCAA titles were won over a period of 12 years.
Wooden chose not to ID himself because he understood what may happen. He just wanted to help this school get off to great start. He wanted a student to get a chance. There was nothing in it for him. It was a humble act.
Christian love is a humble love. But sadly, humility is not part of our experience. I long to see that type of humble love being expressed again. The church could sure use it.
American churches seem to exhibit the same arrogance that our society does. Our cry is buildings, baptisms, and budgets---that what success is all about! The apostle Paul said, let me show you a more "excellent way". He described a type of love that demonstrates the true nature of Christ. Paul said spiritual gifts are great, but reach for a higher level of spiritual growth.
I always thought that the person closest to Jesus, and the one who would set at His side was not the obvious. It would not be the big time preacher or spiritual giant or the famous book writer. It would be someone no one ever heard of, but was pleading through prayers and life a relationship that reflected Jesus. It would be the kind of person who would do something for someone else with no desire for anything in return.