The NBA and The Son of Man

You don't expect to read an article like this when you're rummaging through ESPN.com. Well, at least if you're me. Needless to say it caught my attention for a good while.

For those of you who clicked on the above link, saw the article, and decided you did not have time to read the whole thing...here's the skinny. Lamar Odom, a forward for the Las Angeles Lakers, has had some recent suffering in his life. His offseason included burying his infant son Jayden, the death of his aunt, and a robbery at gunpoint in Queens, NY (he was shot at as the robber fled the scene). Thus, Mr. Odom has been sobered. Apparently - and rightfully so - the death of his infant son has done the most to awaken him to reality. According to the article, he has been thinking much about death, evil, etc. All of which is enough to make a human question what is going on in the world.

However, his response is quite intriguing. He is coming out with his own line of clothes. What will they look like, you ask? Well, for an example one can view the above image on this blog post. The clothing line is called "Son of Man" and the clothes will exhibit pictures of Jesus as Odom interprets them from the Bible. The one above, as you can tell, is the Jesus who is coming back "not too happy" as Mr. Odom would say. He hopes that his clothing will make a statement about Jesus being a real role-model/icon for youngsters to look up to, as opposed to current day rappers and athletes who do not do such a good job of the aforementioned. Though outerwear is involved in his response, do not dismiss Odom's thinking as merely skin deep. His pain is real and he is clamoring for something.

The article goes on to talk about how the recent tragedies have turned him back to his roots as he was raised going to church. However, he also mentions something about the Quran - as though he is interested in it as well - and he has hired a Muslim cleric to teach him about Islam. What does this all mean? Beats the heck out of me. It seems though that death has Odom thinking about eternity so much that he is reaching in different directions trying to find something. So, I posted this for several reasons. 1) If you remember, pray Jesus would speak to Odom as he rummages through the Bible, and that he would be drawn to Jesus and not Mohammad. 2) Pray Jesus would be seen as more than just a role model. 3) Be on the lookout for these clothes...what a great conversation starter! 4) I just thought it was incredibly interesting.

(P.S. - I say "Son of Man" is way better than "Jesus is My Homeboy")