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Claude Terry As a former National Basketball Association player and one of the highest scorers in Stanford University history, I'm considered successful by the world's standards. Our society glorifies individuals who have reached the top in their careers. They are financially rewarded and publicly admired. They are put on a pedestal and regarded as heroes. But you know something, I'm really no more extraordinary than you or the person who lives on the street. Let me explain why. I loved basketball and baseball I grew up in central California in a very athletic family. At one point, I dreamed of playing pro baseball but lost interest after I hurt my arm pitching in high school. I played three years of varsity basketball in Modesto and was the most valuable player in the conference my senior year. I moved on to Stanford where I received All-Pac 8, All-West Coast and (two-time All-America honors. At first I failed to make the starting five on the freshman team. I was determined to improve after the first couple of games, and by the end of the season I broke the freshman scoring record. The next year I became the highest scoring sophomore in Stanford history, then set a single-season scoring record my junior year. I raised my average as a senior and eventually set the career scoring mark. My 22.2 scoring average in Pac-10 conference games still ranks No. 2 behind Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). I was drafted by the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and the Denver Nuggets of the old American Basketball Association in 1972. I played with Denver through 1976 and was a member of the team that won 60 games back-to-back in '74-'75 and '75-'76. When the ABA merged with the NBA, I was traded to the Buffalo Braves and played half a season before moving to the Atlanta Hawks where I wrapped up my playing career. After that, I coached college basketball for 10 years and spent six of those seasons as head coach at Seattle Pacific University. Although I've experienced success in basketball and business, neither have satisfied my deepest needs in life. True inner peace and joy can't be found in possessions, achievements, fame, or anything else the world has to offer. I have seen the world come crashing down on people who seemed to have it all: money, plush house, fancy car, you name it. Here's what I discovered I discovered that a personal relationship with God through His only Son, Jesus Christ, is the only thing that can satisfy our inner hunger for lasting contentment. Even if you don't think it's possible, the Bible says God loves us regardless of who we are or what our past is like. From His perspective, we're all guilty of rebelling against Him and not following His ways. The Bible calls that rebellion sin, and Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God). But the verse also says that the free gift of God is eternal life. God sent his Son, Jesus, into the world to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing. To receive this eternal life as well as an abundant life here on earth, all we have to do is believe in Jesus (John 3:16), accept Him into our life by confessing that He is Lord (Romans 10:9) and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Again, we don't have to earn God's love. All we have to do is receive it through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Now you understand why I'm no more extraordinary than you or any other person. I'm just a person who is saved by God's grace (Ephesians 2:8,9) If you would like to know more about Jesus and what He can do for you, just click button on the left side of your screen to change your life. |
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