Christian Living

---

While I lost favor and standing with the NFL several years ago, due in part to the fighting and fussing over money, in recent years I have started to follow a portion of the NFL. Not the teams, of which I have held the Patriots in high esteem for years because of John Hannah, a fellow DeKalb County native, but individual players.
Justin Tuck, Cam Newton, John Parker Wilson and Adalius Thomas are players which in recent years I have admired and watched as they have honed their skills both on and off the fields; professionally and personally these are just a few of the NFL’s men I honor, respect and thank God for their place as heroes among our teenagers. But recently I have grown to admire and respect Tim Tebow.
As a college football fanatic, I would watch him as he played for the Florida Gators, placed on a pedestal and Tebow fever sweeping through the nation of college football. I was one that grew tired of the name, of the showmanship and the continual sports commentators saying, “Tebow this…Tebow that…if not for Tebow…” It truly became a thorn in my side, until…
I learned the facts about Tebow and why there was such passion and appeal in this young man, who played with the heart of a warrior.
Tim Tebow was born in 1987 to Baptist Missionaries in Makati, Philippines, Robert Ramsey and Pamela Elaine Tebow. He was the youngest of five children. While pregnant Pamela contract a life-threatening illness and was advised to have an abortion, which was illegal in the Philippines. Due to the strong faith in God, knowing He was the creator and sustainer of life, the choice was made and Tim Tebow was born.
Homeschooled in Florida, the children were raised to have the same faith and belief of their parents, and Tebow excelled in this area, as he demonstrates now on the field of play and in his personal life.
He was well recruited by several schools, even considered at the University of Alabama, but chose instead the school were his parents first met and fell in love. While a student at the University of Florida Tebow earned several honors for his football career. One of the most prestigious was being the Heisman Trophy, which he received his sophomore year-a first time in the history of college football.
On the field he is competitive and unorthodox in his demonstrations of religious devotion, which has gained both criticism and praise from supporters and observers in recent days; he is Tim Tebow an outstanding young man who portrays both a love for others and a love for God. Recently, I found that he will select some individual, fly them and their family to his game, pay for all their expenses and quietly sneak away after the game to spend time with them, privately.
He has been ridiculed and scorned for the variety of ways for which he has proclaimed the message of Christ. We now have people talking about doing “The Tebow” or his use of face paint to proclaim “Jon 316.” These are ways in which he has proclaimed his faith. Now we know, these have had eternal benefits.
The Baptist Press recently reported that after the outspoken quarterback threw for 316 yards to help Denver upset favored Pittsburgh in the playoffs, millions flocked to the Internet to search for John 3:16. The day after the game this verse became the number one search on Google. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had 8,000 hits on an advertisement they placed on Google, with 150 of those making decisions to accept Christ as their Savior. What a wonderful thing happened, because one man stood for God in the secular marketplace.
In a world that needs heroes; Godly men who will take a stand for right and righteousness, pointing others to the true hero-Jesus Christ-I am truly thankful for someone like Tim Tebow.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE