This morning, I came across an article on Fox News web site. It’s called ”
Denver’s Religious Communities Rally Around Tim Tebow As He Pulls Off Another ‘Miracle’ Win.” I found it enjoyable to see Christians, Muslims and Jews openly liking this man’s openness about his faith in God.
As I normally don’t watch NFL football, I was puzzled by the alleged uproar. “What is with the uproar?” I asked. A simple check on the Internet reveals something shocking. Tim Tebow openly acknowledges God by thanking Him for successful touchdowns, praying before or after a game and saying “God Bless you in interview.
In other words, Tim Tebow was simply glorifying God. Even more, Tim is not afraid to do it, in a public setting. I doubt that he’s even thinks about. Tim simply praises God and doesn’t care who’s watching. May we all have such boldness!
Is it biblical to ask for such a thing? Let’s put it this way, Peter says this to the ruling council in Acts 4:18-22:
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
We’re not to let the fear of man intimidate us, from sharing Jesus and sharing the “Good News”. Peter and John were quite bold in showing the love of Christ. What did they do? In Jesus’ name, they healed a man born lame. When asked about it, Peter and John gave glory to God, through His Son, Jesus.
This is why I’m glad to see Tim being upfront in thanking God and giving Jesus, the glory for both good games and bad.
While searching out the matter of Tim Tebow and his bold demonstration of faith, I came across a blog run by NBC Sport. The article is called “Aaron Rodgers on Tim Tebow“. From what I could see, it seems Aaron was claiming St. Francis, as a role model and cited an alleged quote from the venerable saint:
Here is a shocker, for you. The above quote is false. As I write this post, I felt prompted to do a fact check. According to American Catholic’s “Ask a Franciscan: Great Sayings“, the supposed quote is false. It appears to be a derivative of an actual statement. Here is a partial quote from the this site:
In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars not to preach unless they had received the proper permission to do so. Then he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”
St. Francis not only did make such a quote; Francis was afraid to preach the Gospel, himself. Did he not approach the leaders of Muslim nations with the Gospel? He most certainly did. Francis firmly believed the Gospel needed to be preached to all. It was to be doen through our words and our actions.
Take a look at this Wikipedia entry on St. Francis. It seems Aaron Rodgers is modeling the wrong man! As for Tim Tebow, he has this in common with Francis. Both men are true follower of Jesus and have been bold in demonstrating their faith.
What about us? It is not wrong to ask God, the Father to grant boldness, to His children. This is precisely what the early church did in Acts 4:23-31:
23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, throughthe mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE,
AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?
26 ‘THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND,
AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER
AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Christianity Explained 
I was not aware of Francis saying, or not saying this. I generally say “preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary”
The emphasis is not on the lack of words, for you need those, but on the life and actions of a Christaian. I think it is a good thought even if it isn’t a quote.
Hi Steve. I came across it when doing a search on Tim Tebow. It’s one of those quote that sounds good and gets wrongly associated with certain people. I was actually going to make a different comment; however I felt a need to address it.
By the way, Francis was a believer in showing Christ through our actions and letting our words match it. This is what Tim Tebow appears to be doing.
Thanks for sharing. I did a similar post a few weeks ago, “Not Ashamed of the Gospel.”
It is certainly refreshing to see someone praising God in such an open setting and huge fan base such as football. I hope Tim Tebow keeps up the hard work and stays a good example for Christ. I’ve heard there are a whole lot of “hater” websites going up against Tim and his faith. Of course it makes the world uncomfortable to see someone saying thank you to “His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” on television. I love it! Let the world squirm a little. Great Post and very interesting!