Just a week after my warning that college sports can be an idol (and I stll think that), I read a column that showed how one Christian is using sports for the cause of Christ. It's a very different article about Tim Tebow than most I had read up that point, and you can read in in its entirety here.
In his entire story about Tebow, Rick Reilly never uses the words "Jesus," "religion," or "faith." No mention is made of Tebow's praying on the field or "giving glory to God" for his football skills and victories. This is not just because Reilly is not interested in those details, and he probably isn't. It's because Reilly is overcome by the effects of Christ (unnamed in the article) on Tebow's life.
Here's my take-away from the article. Tim Tebow may be one of the first Christian athletes to seriously think about how to use this enormous wealth and world stage to demonstrate the life of Christ. Not many people can spend the money on these people that Tebow is able to afford (I'm not explaining who these people are, because I want you to read Reilly's article!). Not many people have access to the research and logistics that go into locating the cases, making flight arrangements, and designing gift baskets that I am sure Tebow can pay others to help him with. But Tebow is non-verbally saying, "If I can make this a priority on game day in the NFL, thus putting into perspective the eternal things versus the transient things, then you can take a little time out of your 'busy' life to visit a shut-in, give a small gift of encouragement, make a small sacrifice of service to someone."
We can. We are the Body of Christ on earth. And Tim Tebow is showing us how to be His Body. Thanks, Tim.
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