[Through My Eyes Tim Tebow Pdf
Denna Repaci
Tim Tebow has a long list of accomplishments. He is a Heisman Trophy winner. He is a National Champion. He is a first-round draft pick in the NFL. He is an author of a few books. He is the leader of a life-changing foundation. But before all of that, he is a follower of Christ.
It was 2009 and Tebow was playing college football at Florida. He was weeks away from competing in the highly televised national championship football game when God led him to write John 3:16 under his eyes for all the world to see while he played. What happened next was no coincidence, but God working through a small act of courage that He used to do amazing things.
Tim Tebow is a two-time national champion, first round NFL draft pick, and Heisman trophy winner. After playing in the NFL for the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets, Tebow joined the SEC Network. In addition to his role on SEC Nation, the network's traveling road show, Tebow also contributes to a variety of other ESPN platforms. In 2016 he signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Mets. Through everything Tim's true passion remains the work of the Tim Tebow Foundation, which he began in 2010.
Around that same time, a massive crisis had begun to unfold in Afghanistan. Our foundation, the Tim Tebow Foundation, and I began to specifically pray for the Lord to show us how we were to help as we watched the dire situation turn more urgent by the day. Through so many phone calls and conversations seeking council from experts in the field and wisdom from leaders of faith, we quickly began coordinating with our ministry partners on what impact we could have. Within what felt like no time at all, we set into motion and began to work through several channels and partners, including one of our partner human trafficking rescue operation teams. Our priority became getting a specialized team into Afghanistan to help rescue and evacuate as many vulnerable people as possible. While we coordinated that operation into Afghanistan, my personal assignment was different. I had been presented with an opportunity to travel alongside a different partner on a trip to a nearby country where thousands of Afghan evacuees had found shelter.
While I had my sights set on becoming the Most Valuable Player, God was opening my eyes to show me that the MVPs I should be chasing the most were the Most Vulnerable People. The same people group Jesus intentionally sought out in His time on earth.
To be honest, my team and I were just beginning to learn how to operate a foundation in those days. But one thing that we knew for certain from the start was that God had called us to a mission of loving and serving His MVPs. He had called us to arm ourselves with Faith, Hope and Love, and to run into the darkness in search of the Most Vulnerable People.
"(M)aybe she just called me that to toughen us up for the names I would be called the first time I played at LSU," Tim Tebow, who became the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the University of Florida, writes in his 2011 book "Through My Eyes."
"Polarizing" is the sports commentariat's typical term to describe national reaction to Tebow since he went pro. The negativity flows in part from his initially rocky performance. But much more seems to be reaction to Tebow's Christian faith. Critics want him to keep it to himself, a pattern that is increasingly common in American public life.
Talking is one thing. Walking the talk is another. That's where Tim Tebow stands out. Born in the Philippines to missionary parents, he not only is outspoken about his faith, referencing it frequently in word and symbol - such as biblical citations in his eye black. He's also as intense about living out his faith as he is about playing football - and winning.
And he's done a good bit of winning. For a 24-year-old who's been, in his words, "the center of so much spilled ink" since his high school days (before graduating he was the subject of a documentary), it's amazing he's full of anything other than himself. Instead, he brims over about his faith, family, football and teammates.
Tebow takes seriously the burden of his "platform" - a word he uses frequently in his book to refer to his opportunity to influence others for good. Such disciplined, purposeful stewardship of a leadership role is rare in anyone, but particularly someone so young in a field rampant with narcissism and bad behavior.
Even for observers who consider the eye-black evangelism corny or juvenile, it's simply no comparison to the "youthful indiscretions" that haunt so many public figures for years. And even through jaded eyes, the trademark Tebow kneel to give gratitude to God after a great play hardly can be as obnoxious as others' on-field (not to mention off-field) antics and outbursts.
What the mockery of Tebow's faith "has revealed about religious discourse in America is ugly," she says. "And this defense that Tebow invites such scrutiny with his willingness to publicly live as he privately believes calls into question what exactly it is we value."
Public expression of religious belief is an essential aspect of what has been called America's first freedom. This nation is founded on the principle that religious individuals and institutions would have the freedom to live out their faith. But in recent decades, policy and social pressures have suggested that faith should be pushed into a private sphere.
It's true. He's kept smiling while showing remarkable magnanimity toward critics. One, former Broncos QB Jake Plummer, suggested toning down the religious rhetoric. Tebow responded that if it's a good idea for a husband to tell his wife he loves her as often as he can, then wouldn't it be appropriate to do the same when it comes to the most important relationship in his own life?
Jennifer A. Marshall is director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation and author of the book "Now and Not Yet: Making Sense of Single Life in the Twenty-First Century."
For nearly two years, the former Florida quarterback printed Bible verses on the black patches he wore under his eyes. In his final game as a collegian, a 51-21 victory over Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, Tebow chose Ephesians 2:8-10. It means that only through faith in God will you be saved.
That will be the last message he - or any college or professional player - will send via eye black, because NFL and NCAA rules forbid players from marking their uniforms, which includes those small strips, in any way. The NCAA announced its rule change on Thursday. The NFL adopted the rule decades ago.
"The NFL is looked upon as the highest level of sport and we want our players to look professional in every aspect of their game, including the uniform," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "... The players understand the rationale behind it. Where you draw the line would come into play in some instances. A player may feel that, 'I should be able to shout out to my friend or my family,' vs. not allowing some other player to do so. We have this policy and it's widely understood."
The rule covers the helmet, jersey, pants, shoes, tape, wristbands, and headbands. No writing on any part of the body. Before each game uniform reps - former NFL players - prowl the sidelines looking for violators. When the teams go back into the locker room before the game starts, they are given a list of players who are in violation of the rule.
Tebow said last weekend he was unaware that he wouldn't be allowed to write anything on his eye black next season, but said he'd continue to do it if allowed. He also said he's disappointed with the NCAA's rule change.
"It's very unfortunate that you can't do it in college anymore," he said. "I think it's taking away from people's personality. I think it's taking away from their freedom of speech. It's something that a lot of guys did, a lot of players did to represent something they were proud of. I don't think it was something that was boastful or saying, 'Hey, look at me,' in any way. It was something that [said], 'This is where I'm from,' or, 'This is what I'm believing,' or, 'This is what I'm trying to show.' "
Prohibiting writing on the eye black does not infringe upon free speech, said Jacksonville attorney Len Magid, who specializes in labor and employment law from an employee's perspective. The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting free speech. It doesn't apply to an employer-employee relationship.
"The general public confuses the constitutional rights people have with the rights that they have with their employer," Magid said. "Theoretically, Kmart could fire everybody with a bumper sticker that said Obama or Bush. There's no law that prevents them from doing that. The reason they don't do that is it makes no business sense."
Magid said employers can demand whatever they want from their employees regardless of the reason -except if it involves race, gender, national origin, religion, age or disability. That means that an employer can have a rule prohibiting employees from having facial hair or tattoos or wearing green shirts.
The NFL is different because the players have a union and the collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players covers the employment relationship. The CBA includes the rules governing the game and equipment, which means players have agreed to follow those guidelines.
Magid said the NFL should not be allowed to selectively single out Tebow for his religious expression if it allows others to express themselves in a similar way. But because the league's rule prohibits all writing, religious discrimination doesn't apply.
"You can't make a decision against an employee based upon religious beliefs, but I don't think Tebow can claim that putting [eye black with Bible verses on it] under his eyes is a religious belief," Magid said. "He's just announcing to everybody what he believes. It's not a religious requirement for his religion."
Tebow's eye black did carry a religious message, but the trend of writing on the black patches that were designed to cut down on glare began with something a lot more secular. It's hard to trace the first person who wrote anything on their eye black, but running back Reggie Bush, who played at Southern California from 2003-05, is generally credited with popularizing it. Bush wrote "619" on his, the area code of his hometown of Spring Valley, Calif.
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