mybabyr0c: 15 Minutes of Fame

Saturday, November 19, 2011

15 Minutes of Fame

Favor: something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act: to ask a favor. Friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill: to win the favor of the king.

Unmerited favor

"But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart'."

-1 Samuel 16:7

My wife and I love Tim Tebow.

Let me say it again; "My wife and I love Tim Tebow."

Tim Tebow
go gators!

Since we got married in 2006 we have enjoyed every fall Saturday, until last year, watching #15 play at the University of Florida. I knew my wife bought into his special ability and persona when she commented last year that we should get the NFL Ticket on DirecTV so we could watch Tebow play every Sunday.

DirecTV & Sunday Ticket

I told her to let me think about it?

And in exactly 1.5 seconds later my reply was; "Let me call and see if they are running any early bird specials."

She, my wife, is a very special person that has too many grand qualities to try to explain in a short piece such as this. Words can't simply begin to describe my amazement at her keen intellect and her unmatched wisdom.

She is phenomenal.

"Honey come in here and make sure I spelled everything right and I wrote it just like you told me to."

Anyway, like I said we are big Tebow fans, and we are big fans for many different reasons.

Pat Tebow and her son.

The main reason we admire him as much as we do is because of his unwavering faith in Christ. His fierce and courageous determination to follow Christ at any cost and to verbally communicate his commitment to God anytime and anywhere is inspiring to me.

As my wife and I watched him lead the Broncos to a win against the New York Jets this past Thursday we were amazed by his poise before, during and after the game. Tebow knows who he is and he's not afraid to let everyone else know who he is, what he believes and what his purpose is.

I share with my kids, and whoever will listen to me, that there are three main questions we should all ask ourselves: (1) Who are you? (2) What do you believe? And (3) what is your purpose?

The book that I'm going to write is based on those three questions.

I would humbly submit that if God is not part and parcel of each answer to those three questions that you're living a very shallow version of the life God intended you to live.

The key isn't necessarily to be able to answer those questions, but to begin the internal dialogue and ask; Who am I? What do I believe? And what is my purpose?

And how does God fit into each one of those answers and areas?

The Broncos #1 pick in 2010.

Tim stated to The NFL Network anchormen after the win over the Jets that; "It is very exciting and we're excited about the wins that we've been able to put together. I love it and care about it."

He went on to say...

"But the greatest thing with this sport and with the NFL is we have such a platform, and we can take that platform and we can influence the next generation. That is honestly my passion. This week we got to announce that I was building a hospital in the Philippines. This game means a lot but that hospital means more to me because that's changing peoples' lives. That's giving people faith, hope and love, and that's more important. My ultimate goal with this, with playing football, is to be a great role model that a parent can look at their son and say, 'That's someone that is trying to do it the right way; he's not perfect but everyday he's trying to get better, he's trying to honor God, do the right thing, do what's right and do his best'."

He knows who he is, he knows what he believes and he knows what his purpose is. He is a blessed man.

I truly admire who he is and what he is choosing to pursue during his time on earth.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

-1 Corinthians 10:31

So as my wife and me basked in the triumph of a Tim Tebow lead Broncos team we smiled at each other with a look that stated; "we get it."

It wasn't an arrogant or smug look, it was just a look of we believe in what God can do in another person's life.

We believe in what He is doing in our lives.

And if God wants Tim Tebow to be a quarterback in the NFL then he is going to be a quarterback in the NFL.

We believe in the power of God.

Period.

And as easy as it is to get caught up in the emotion of the game and wanting everyone one to be proved wrong, it honestly has nothing to do with the game, but it has everything to do with the post game press conference. It was the acknowledgement of his God given forum and platform, his desire to be a role model and his purpose to make a difference in generations to come with a hospital he is building in the Philippines.

It has to do with who he is and what he stands for.

It has to do with the way he has lead his life since being on the national scene at the University of Florida.

It has to do with him being committed, being consistent and him having a laser like focus and approach on what he wants to do with his life.

In the end he wants to serve God. And I think that is pretty cool.

#15

What else is pretty cool is the number he wears.

The number 15.

When I began to look through my Bible after the game I became intrigued with Tim's jersey number. I have always put a certain value on and attributed a specific meaning to the number I worn in high school and college, and I do the same with the numbers my kids wear since they began playing sports.

For those keeping score at home the number 2 and 3 are big in our house. There are too many reasons to go into why we love those numbers other than to say we just do.

So as I began my journey with the number 15 I found out some very interesting facts:

15 represents the perfect 3-dimensional expression - 3 x 5.
It is the atomic number of phosphorus.
Many Jewish holidays begin on the 15th of the month.
It represents the number of days in each of the 24 cycles of the Chinese calendar.
The number of guns in a gun salute to Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force Lieutenant Generals, and Navy and Coast Guard Vice Admirals is 15.
Noah's Ark rose 15 cubits. It was the first time 15 was mentioned in the Bible. (Gen. 7:20)
Fifteen years were added to the life of Hezekiah by God who was suffering from a mortal sickness. (2 Kings 20:5-6)
The cross of Jesus had a length of fifteen feet.

Like I said, interesting.

As I journeyed along with my faithful companion, curiosity, I began to count the books of Bible in the New Testament and discovered that the fifteenth book in the New Testament was, you guessed it, 1 Timothy.

I was blown away.

Maybe this is why Tebow wears the number 15 I thought to myself? I have no idea, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was more than a little enthused with the irony of the entire matter.

In taking the number thing one step further I looked up 1 Timothy 1:5; it states:

"The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith."

-1 Timothy 1:5

Wow!

I really didn't know what to say. That verse represents who Tim Tebow is to a, dare I say, " T ".

I believe... always have, always will!

As I continued my research into the number fifteen I was made aware of its Biblical significance. As all of us are aware, fifteen is 3 x 5 mathematically, but Biblically speaking three represents divine perfection and five represents grace, therefore, fifteen is often seen in association with divine grace, or the free unmerited favor of God.

I think it is fair to say that we all have witnessed God's favor upon number 15's life.

And football is just part of the story.

Ah yea football.

When I think about Tim Tebow and football two things come to mind; the media and God's word.

I'm not going to say that every football expert or media talking head are hell bent on seeing Tebow fail, just as I won't say that everyone that wants him to succeed are right wing conservative Christians that have no athletic perspective or football intellect, and that they only have a religious point to make or some cross to bear concerning Tebow's exploit and wanted success on Sunday afternoons.

I think it's somewhere in the middle.

I believe the criticism about his natural, or unnatural, throwing motion and his inability to consistently hit wide open receivers are valid. I also believe there are more than a few Christians that understand the criticism and are interested in him because of his football skill and his faith; all the while hoping, and praying, for his success in the NFL.

I would be one of those in the ladder group that is praying, and hoping, for his on and off the field success.

Most of what we hear out of the media is pretty consistent; he can't play quarterback, but the best and most encouraging words I have heard, and read, come by way of CBS Sports anchorman Solomon Wilcots concerning his praise for the virtues that define Tim Tebow:

Solomon Wilcots

"That's the thing, Craggs. We're all too smart for God these days, and to believe in Tim Tebow is to believe in God in a world that tells us God is an impossibility, and that Tim Tebow is a bad quarterback because a bunch of guys on television said so. Well, screw that. We need some new heroes."

I couldn't agree more.

I mentioned earlier that there were two things that came to mind when thinking about Tebow and football; the media and God's word.

In God's word the scripture that comes to mind is the one that I stated at the beginning of this piece; 1 Samuel 16:7:

Too many pundits, players and professors of football look at all the externals. They hang their hat on that his time on the field, like his throwing motion, is ugly. They say you can't win long term with this kid; "great leader; terrible QB, you can't win a Super Bowl with him."

All that may be true.

But I believe in a God that doesn't bother with outward appearances and the opinions and views of the world. He listens very little to the arguments of why Tebow can't succeed in the NFL. If I have said it once I have said a thousand times; "If God wants that young man to be a NFL quarterback then a NFL quarterback he will be."

I believe what God looks at is this young man's heart, and his heart is centered around the belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross for his sins and if he believes in his heart, thinks in his mind and confess with his tongue his faith in God, and the truth of the cross, he too will have eternal salvation.

I believe this too.

I'm committed to the belief that Tebow will be in the NFL as a successful QB as long as God deems it necessary to accomplish all He wants to accomplish through number 15.

God's will is paramount, not winning football games.

There is nothing wrong with winning football games , but I believe that God's will for Tebow's life is much bigger than that.

I also believe that he will have more than just cup of coffee and his allotted 15 minutes of fame in the NFL, because minutes, hours and football seasons is not what ultimately motivates this kid, its eternity that he has his attention on.

And that's all this kid is about.