Tebow: "because Jesus Christ comes first in my life"

As a lifelong Raiders fan it is very much in my DNA not to like the Denver Broncos. I always had grudging respect for John Elway simply because he was such a great quarterback. I must admit that despite his obvious deficiencies as a QB, I also like Tim Tebow a lot. So does Jake Plummer, the former Denver quarterback who led the Broncos the last time they were a good team. In a recent interview in which he mostly lauded the young quarterback, Jake the Snake, after saying "I think he's a winner and I respect that about him," went on to say, "I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I'll like him a little better."

I certainly get where the Snake is coming from and even understand it to an extent. Be that as it may, I was really pretty blown away by Tim's response, which, as always, was respectful, but direct:

If you're married... and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife 'I love her' the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? And that's how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ is that it is the most important thing in my life. So any time I get an opportunity to tell him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I'm gonna take that opportunity. And so I look at it as a relationship that I have with him that I want to give him the honor and glory anytime I have the opportunity. And then right after I give him the honor and glory, I always try to give my teammates the honor and glory. And that's how it works because Christ comes first in my life, and then my family, and then my teammates. I respect Jake's opinion, and I really appreciate his compliment of calling me a winner. But I feel like anytime I get the opportunity to give the Lord some praise, he is due for it

Asked later in the ESPN interview conducted by Skip Bayless if God makes him a better football player, Tim simply said his faith gives him comfort and peace while playing.

Tebow certainly endures a lot of sniping and ridicule for being upfront about his faith. It's amazing that he never complains, or criticizes others for engaging in it, using it to put himself front-and-center or say, "Oh, poor pitiful me." A good example of this was during the disastrous game against Detroit, when Tebow's play was awful, Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch, after sacking Tebow, engaged in "Tebowing," as did Tulloch's teammate Tony Scheffler after catching a touchdown pass in the same game.

This prompted ESPN's Jemele Hill to ask in an article after the Detroit game, "if Tebow were Muslim or Jewish, would Tulloch and Scheffler have been so quick to execute a prayer parody?" Of course, hers is a rhetorical question. She went on to observe, "Prayer is a sacred component of any religion. Making fun of someone else's spiritual connection is on par with ridiculing them about their family. You don't have to be a Christian to get that, just someone who understands the concept of respect."

I have to admit that when I first read Plummer's comments I was inclined to agree. Tebow's remarkable response, along with remembering other responses he has given to similar suggestions, changed my mind and even made me determine that this was worthy of a post. Being overt about your religious beliefs makes a lot of people uneasy. That's just life in these United States. But it should not deter us from being open about our love for Jesus Christ. As St. Paul wrote: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek" (Rom. 1:16).Contra Plummer, I'd like Tim a little less if he stopped being so forthright about his faith. After all, while he is a brother in Christ, he still plays for the Broncos!