I like Tim Tebow. So this weekend's Broncos/Patriots playoff game hurt to watch.
No last-quarter or last-minute miracles. Tebow's team lost and lost bad. With a final score of 45-10, they weren't just beaten. They were crushed.
So much for anybody who thought Jesus is a ticket to the Super Bowl - or even a league championship. Because without preaching - just by living it - Tim's got us thinking of Jesus when we think of him. The media's all over the Tim Tebow story. Tim Tebow seems to want to redirect the attention. To Jesus.
Yeah, I really wanted to see Tim and his Broncos pull out another stunning, odds-defying victory this past weekend. But for those who've tended to think that Jesus was somehow validated by the winning, I'd suggest the losing's done it even more. And it's shown us why belonging to Jesus is a faith that wins even when you lose. Especially when you lose.
I was anxious to see how this media-bombarded quarterback reacted after losing what was arguably the most important game of his career so far. Plus, it was after being the object of derisive chanting from Patriot fans.
He talked about his opponents: "They played well...you've got to give them a lot of credit." He talked about his teammates: "I just want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and thank my teammates for the effort they put forth." And this season: "A very special opportunity for me - something I'm very thankful for and very thankful for the opportunity to build so many great relationships with teammates and coaches."
Then there was losing: "Any time you're getting beaten like that, you just continue to fight. Every time I step on the field, I'm going to give my whole heart regardless of the score...I need to work and improve."
Zack McCleod will never forget Sunday's game. Before each game, Tim Tebow spends some time with a child or young person who's living with serious disability. This week it was Zack, who used to play football, but suffered a massive brain injury. Tim said, "It was a good day because I got to spend time with Zack McCleod and make him smile...I got to make a kid's day...and that's more important than winning a game."
Grace. Encouragement. Big picture perspective. Taking responsibility. Inner peace. That's what we heard from this Jesus-follower in the wake of a crushing defeat.
There's a reason for that - one that compels each of us to think about Jesus being, as Tebow says, "my Lord and Savior." When you have Jesus, you're complete. The Bible literally says that we are "complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10). With Jesus, you've got an "unloseable" identity. Whether you win or lose. Whether they're cheering or booing you. When somebody loves you and when somebody drops you. When you've got a job, when you lose your job. When there's money in the bank, when the money's gone.
Let's face it - just about any belief or philosophy works when you're winning. The test is when you lose "big time". And we all do, in one way or another. But when life is the worst, Jesus is at His best. Because "nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39 - NLT). We were, in God's words, "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16), and when you've got Him, you're still together, no matter what falls apart.
I can be totally sure of Jesus in the moments when there's nothing else I can be sure of. "We have this hope as an anchor, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). I know I'm safe in His love because of how far His love reached for me. It went all the way to that cross where He poured out His life-blood to pay the price for my sin, and tear down the wall between me and the God who made me. I belong to the only One loved me enough to die for me and who was powerful enough to walk out of His grave So whatever I lose, thank God, I will never lose Him. Or actually, He will never lose me.
Corrie ten Boom, who lost her family and suffered unspeakable degradation in a Nazi concentration camp said, "There is no pit so deep but God's love is deeper still." I can lose it all, and still have what matters most - Who matters most.