Football this season has been a little more interesting, though. If you have been visiting another planet or some such thing, then you may not have heard of Tim Tebow. He is a young man who should have died before he was even born. His parents were told to abort him because the pregnancy was a threat to his mother's life and he wouldn't survive until term anyway. Well, his parents stood fast to their beliefs and did not abort him. He was born full term and grew up healthy and strong--strong enough to be a great football player. And strong enough to hold fast to his Savior. He is not shy about his beliefs, and from what I've seen, he's the real thing. He is genuine. He's a breath of fresh air.
Now why, you may ask, does he get all this attention when there are other Christian athletes out there? Well, I think there is more than one answer to that. First of all, his testimony of how he was supposed to be aborted, and his pro-life stance because of it, drew a lot of attention. Abortion is a very hot topic for a lot of people, and those who are pro-abortion instantly hated Tebow. It didn't matter that the commercial he did with his mother was very uplifting, non-confrontational, and all in all just really sweet, they still hated him. And he was thrust into the limelight.
The other reason for his popularity would be better explained by my husband. Football stats are not my cup of tea, but this I know: Tim Tebow is not supposed to win games. Sports fans and analysts are scratching their heads and wondering how this young, rookie quarterback is bringing the Broncos closer and closer to the Superbowl. They can't deny that he wins games, they just can't figure out how he does it.
So maybe you are out there, not into football, thinking televised sports are a waste of time, and wondering what's the big deal? I've heard some of you say it. You shrug your shoulders and say it's just football. He's just an athlete. God doesn't care about football....right?
I'm here to say that I'm pretty sure God does care about football. And God does care about Tim Tebow. He even cares who wins the Superbowl (and even if it's not the Broncos, he still has a reason for who wins it). You see, I have to believe that. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't believe that, because I believe that God cares about the intricacies of my own life. If I believe that God cares about my job as a homemaker, then how could I say he doesn't care about Tim Tebow's job? If I can go about my daily activities of cleaning toilets and scrubbing dried food off of dishes and wiping snot off noses, and say "I can do all to the glory of God" then who am I to say that Tim Tebow can't play football to the glory of God? The truth is, he can play football to the glory of God. And he's actually showing us what it looks like to play football to the glory of God. And it really has nothing to do with whether the Broncos win or lose. I believe Tim Tebow can win or lose to the glory of God.
So in light of the truth that Tim Tebow, as far as we can tell, is playing football to the glory of God, then I say we as his brothers and sisters in Christ, should get behind him. Stop trying to distance yourself. We are so used to celebrities claiming to be some sort of Christian and then failing miserably to look anything like a Christian, that we instantly run 50 feet in any direction away from anyone famous who claims Christ. Well, it's time to stop running. There is a whole lot of confusion out there about what a genuine Christian looks like. It might clear things up if we distance ourselves from the ones who just claim to know Christ, and stand behind the ones who actually do know Christ. Let the world know that there is a difference between Britney Spears and Tim Tebow (and between Justin Bieber and Kirk Cameron). There is a lot of confusion out there about what a Christian actually looks like. Maybe we could clear some of it up if we stand behind the famous Christians who actually seem to "get it."
And while I'm on the whole Tebow subject, I'd like to say, once and for all, that I do not think all the 316 stats from the last game were just a coincidence. I am not superstitious, but I also don't believe in coincidences. And any "coincidence" that results in the verse John 3:16 being the most searched phrase at yahoo.com for a day, is not just random chance. God is always working, and the older I get, the more I see his hand in everything--even in football.
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