One of the hardest obstacles for some people to overcome when it comes to accepting the Bible as infallible truth is the pervasive presence of paradox. The inclusion of these seemingly contradictory statements often plays tricks on the logical mind, even though the truth behind them can always be substantiated by neighboring Scriptures or by concepts revealed in more distant parts of God’s Word.

Most of these paradoxical statements can be located in the four Gospels, where Jesus confounded the religious leaders of His time. For example, in Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus tells us that we can find rest in working for Him. In Matthew 19:30, He says that the “first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (NIV).

In 1954, a World War II veteran turned college coach named Don McClanen sat across the table from Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Branch Rickey. The meeting was the result of a letter-writing campaign in which McClanen was seeking face-to-face encounters with Christian athletes—the people he considered to be heroes.

The five-minute meeting between the two men dragged on for several hours and eventually birthed a revolutionary organization called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Rickey lent his name to fund-raising efforts while McClanen oversaw administrative efforts to get the ministry off the ground.

Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and member of the 2006-07 National Championship Florida Gators, wasn’t supposed to be a superstar quarterback. In fact, if his mother’s, Pam Tebow’s, doctors would have had their way, his birth would have been permanently postponed.

There’s something about purpose, something about buying into the concept of destiny that inherently evens the odds.

Nowhere will you find more examples of this principle than in the Bible, where unlikely heroes saved entire nations. Moses was a self-conscious exile with a speech problem, yet God used him to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. David was an undersized shepherd boy living under the shadow of his strong, able-bodied older brothers; still he was empowered to kill the mammoth Philistine warrior Goliath and rescue his people from certain defeat. Mary was a teenage girl from a nondescript lineage, but God called her to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

As the son of an Air Force chaplain, Danny Wuerffel had lots of neighbors growing up. He had neighbors in South Carolina, Nebraska, Colorado and even Spain. Eventually Wuerffel’s family settled in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where he developed into one of the state’s outstanding quarterbacks. And while most kids in his shoes might have fallen prey to becoming typical military brats, Wuerffel had a much different understanding of his circumstances.

“The Scriptures say to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself,” Wuerffel says. “But we are unfortunately caught up with focusing most of our passions not on loving our neighbor but loving and caring and serving ourselves.”

Taking life for granted and daydreaming about greener pastures are things everyone does at one time or another. They are so common, in fact, that they’ve been the centerpieces of countless offerings from the entertainment world over the past 60 years. Feature films ranging from 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life (starring Jimmy Stewart) to 1988’s Big (starring Tom Hanks) and 1990’s Mr. Destiny (starring Jim Belushi) have all tackled the subject.

When you are a sports legend like Coach John Wooden, the opportunity to give of your time and resources can be found waiting around every corner. People have been looking to attach his name to charitable causes and have been chasing him down for personal appearances ever since he became synonymous with college basketball greatness.

Wooden, being the servant leader that he is, has graciously accepted many offers over the years. He has visited numerous veterans’ hospitals and children’s hospitals. In fact, it’s organizations that support kids that really get his attention.

When I decided to set my goal of being the first person with multiple sclerosis to compete in an NPC bodybuilding competition, I knew I would need help, but I never knew how generous and selfless so many people would be.