Perhaps now that the Denver Broncos have been vanquished out of the 2011-12 NFL football season, so will the discussion of their quarterback, Tim Tebow fade away. It could be said the biggest story of 2011 was not the end of the Iraq war, presidential primaries, or a crummy economy, but a unassuming, clean living young Christian quarterback. To him his life was not to put a mirror on himself, but to have it reflect on his God. Growing up, his parents occupation was missionaries in foreign lands. That is not that unusual. In any church, on any Sunday, they can be found returning home for continued support in their work. In fact, in professional sports there is gobs of athletes who openly profess their faith. Who has not seen an athlete in a interview state to the camera, “I would first like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”? That stuff is old hat.
The question is, why has Tim Tebow struck such a nerve in the American psyche? Why did this topic dominate sports talk radio, blogs, and viral internet? The only recent comparison I can think of is the Micheal Vick ordeal. But this focused on the dark side of sport. Shocking revelations of animal cruelty, undertones of race relations, and the astonishment of a popular quzillionaire even risking illegal activities. But nooo.. this is the opposite. Tim Tebow is too good to be true, isn’t he??. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. But we watched to see if he would have a pileup. He claimed to be a virgin, and wanted to save sexual relations for the confines of marriage. Millions of silly (pretty) women cooed over him. What?, he’s no stud muffin movie star. It was revealed he helped build a hospital in the Philippines. Wow, this guys halo was getting bigger all the time.
These things are all good and well, commendable in fact, but what made this story take off? The good people and fans in Denver adored this guy. They began to prod the organization to play him as their quarterback. The pressure was so intense, they traded away their starting quarterback!. Wow, that really made people stand up and take notice!. Suddenly, lines were drawn in this seemingly harmless roster issue. Now, RELIGION has entered the business of sports. To outsiders, it appeared the goody two shoe Christians of Colorado had totally influenced this decision. Like a bunch of leftover abortion activists! On the other side, confessed Christians on the sidelines were cheering him on like one of their own.
And then there was the question of his athletic ability in the first place. He threw more like a girl, with a corkscrew side motion that took forever to get released. Not conventional. And he was a college hotshot from a screwy college offense that would never translate in the pros. And to think those loser Broncos drafted him in the first round! So suddenly, these Christians looked like the out of touch blunder heads they always are. Head in the clouds, and feet not on the ground.
So then, clean cut Joe College becomes the Broncos quarterback. Experts quaffed and snickered. Instead of a miserable failure, he and the team began winning. Not only winning, but rubbing the eyes, miraculous comebacks! Not one, not twice, but three overtime games in seemingly impossible odds. The won the AFC West title at the end of the season. Then in their first playoff game they played the defending AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow played nearly flawlessly, and they won, again. Now, the big question was, does GOD GET INVOLVED IN SPORTS? There seemed to be more miracles than Moses performed.
I am of the opinion that God does get involved with sports. But not in the actual contests. God is in the people business. He is interested in all aspects of peoples lives. But only if he is invited. It says in the Book that God is a rewarder of those that seek Him. It also says that those that love God, the same shall be known of him. This is just how God operates. Some people call it Karma. Tebow openly honors God, so God openly honors Tebow. It is a universal principal, whether in a sporting event or not. It could be business, relationships, or money. Eventually, what goes around comes around. It is simple as that.