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“You will be hated for My name’s sake.”
—Jesus to His followers, John 15
Tim Tebow was doubted, even from the start.
His mom and dad were Christian missionaries who believed that God would give them a son named Timothy, which means “honoring God,” who would impact the world in a special way for Him. But soon after Tim’s mom became pregnant with him, serious and life-threatening complications arose. A doctor told her there was only one course of action to take.
“An abortion is the only way to save your life,” the doctor insisted, referring to the unborn baby (Tim) as a “mass of fetal tissue” or as a “tumor.”
But she knew he was a child and refused to terminate his life, choosing instead to trust God with Tim’s life — and her own.
Although she experienced a lot of pain and bleeding throughout her pregnancy, and several times nearly lost the baby, both mother and child survived the ordeal. The attending physician who delivered Tim called him “a miracle baby.”
Even as a child, Tim’s parents continually reminded him that God had a special calling on his life and would one day give him a great platform to reach the world for His glory. As Tim grew in stature, he became a star athlete and was heavily recruited by top colleges for their football programs.
He eventually chose the University of Florida, where he led the Gators to two national championships and was the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. Throughout his collegiate career, he would write Bible verses on his eye black patches like Philippians 4:13, which declares: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Meanwhile, he spent most of his “down” time on mission trips, working in prisons and hospitals overseas, going into schools and youth centers to talk to kids, preaching the gospel wherever he went.
Tim’s coaches and fellow players, as well as others who came into contact with him, were deeply affected by his Christian testimony, personal witness for Christ and commitment to service. As a result, many lives were changed.
Coach Urban Meyer was on a cruise with his wife after one season ended, trying to relax but not being able to. His wife asked him what was wrong and he said he just couldn’t enjoy himself knowing that Tim was in some foreign hellhole tending to the spiritual and physical needs of the poor. Soon after, Meyer committed to doing overseas mission work himself.
“You will be hated for My name’s sake.”
—Jesus to His followers, John 15
Tim Tebow was doubted, even from the start.
His mom and dad were Christian missionaries who believed that God would give them a son named Timothy, which means “honoring God,” who would impact the world in a special way for Him. But soon after Tim’s mom became pregnant with him, serious and life-threatening complications arose. A doctor told her there was only one course of action to take.
“An abortion is the only way to save your life,” the doctor insisted, referring to the unborn baby (Tim) as a “mass of fetal tissue” or as a “tumor.”
But she knew he was a child and refused to terminate his life, choosing instead to trust God with Tim’s life — and her own.
Although she experienced a lot of pain and bleeding throughout her pregnancy, and several times nearly lost the baby, both mother and child survived the ordeal. The attending physician who delivered Tim called him “a miracle baby.”
Even as a child, Tim’s parents continually reminded him that God had a special calling on his life and would one day give him a great platform to reach the world for His glory. As Tim grew in stature, he became a star athlete and was heavily recruited by top colleges for their football programs.
He eventually chose the University of Florida, where he led the Gators to two national championships and was the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. Throughout his collegiate career, he would write Bible verses on his eye black patches like Philippians 4:13, which declares: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Meanwhile, he spent most of his “down” time on mission trips, working in prisons and hospitals overseas, going into schools and youth centers to talk to kids, preaching the gospel wherever he went.
Tim’s coaches and fellow players, as well as others who came into contact with him, were deeply affected by his Christian testimony, personal witness for Christ and commitment to service. As a result, many lives were changed.
Coach Urban Meyer was on a cruise with his wife after one season ended, trying to relax but not being able to. His wife asked him what was wrong and he said he just couldn’t enjoy himself knowing that Tim was in some foreign hellhole tending to the spiritual and physical needs of the poor. Soon after, Meyer committed to doing overseas mission work himself.
But there have been detractors all along, especially when Tim and his mom filmed a pro-life commercial for last year’s Super Bowl telecast. Although the ad was mostly humorous (it never mentioned abortion), liberals throughout the media lambasted Tim.
The critics also claimed that Tim didn’t have the skills to be an NFL quarterback and predicted he wouldn’t be drafted in the first round. Or, if he were, it would be as a fullback or receiver.
Despite all the naysayers, though, Tim was taken as a quarterback in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Still, he has been the subject of withering criticism ever since.
Comedian John Oliver of The Daily Show echoed many others when he said: “I dislike [the dictator] Robert Mugabe. I hate Tim Tebow.”
Now some top NFL commentators have at last stepped forward to say why Tim has been attacked so viciously and vehemently. As former 49ers great Randy Cross put it, it’s because of “what he stands for.” In short, his Christian faith.
James Brown, host of Inside the NFL, pointed out on last week’s program: “There’s a number of guys who come into the league with a big marquee, fat paychecks, a lot of attention, and folks don’t seem to hate them with the same intensity that they hate Tim Tebow.”
Cris Collinsworth concurred, saying Tebow is “one of the best kids that’s ever come into the NFL, and he is hated because of his faith, because of his mission work, because of the fact that he lives the life that he talks about.”
Tim is called “divisive” and “dangerous” for a message he summarizes this way in his best-selling book Through My Eyes: “The good news (gospel) is that God loves you! He loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. He made you special and He wants to have a personal relationship with you and give you eternal life. But our biggest problem is that we have sinned. Because God is a Holy God, He can never have fellowship with sin. Sin makes a wall between us and God. Because Jesus had no sin He could die for our sins on the cross. Because Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead, He has the power to forgive your sins, make you His child, and give you a home in heaven. That is the best news you could ever hear. You can’t earn the free gift of eternal life, you can’t pay for the free gift of eternal life, you can only receive it as a free gift, by putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone.”
And he adds: “If there’s one person who sees my mistakes, realizes that we all fall short, and keeps pressing on,” then whatever criticism he endures as a sinner saved by God’s grace is all worth it.
Wow, what a divisive and dangerous message that is!
Pastor Michael Youssef, explaining why the unbelieving world reacts so virulently to a message of pure love and grace, writes: “They express their hatred for God’s truth by heaping venom on anyone who declares God’s truth...Thus, whenever a Christian lovingly and thoughtfully points them to the truth of history, they hound them down, accuse them of ‘racism,’ ‘hate speech,’ and ‘bigotry.’ Why? Because truth to them is Hell, so they want to muzzle Christians and their message.”
Yes, it’s true, Tim is not the prototypical quarterback. And there will be growing pains, as with any rookie. But all he’s ever done, wherever he’s played, is win.
Indeed, in his first full game as the regular stating QB two weeks ago, with the Broncos trailing 15-0 and less than three minutes remaining, he led the team to two touchdowns, then ran in a two-point conversion to tie the game and send it into overtime, where Denver prevailed 18-15. It was the biggest comeback victory with so little time left in the history of the NFL since the merger.
“Let the heathen rage,” as the Bible says — but if past history is any indication, Tim Tebow’s about to prove a lot of people wrong.
e-mail: tom3264@msn.com, or go to tom’s Facebook page to send a message
