An Epiphany of Tebow(ing)

You can't doubt the man's enthusiasm.  Tim Tebow is an enthusiastic individual and is not afraid to show that enthusiasm wherever he is at--he's on his knee faster than anyone I know.   "Tebowing" is "to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different."  I think the guy has probably worn out several pairs of knee pads this football season!  But he is not the first athlete to give God thanks for success on the field of competition--that has been going on ever since they've been playing sports.  It is just that the guy is so ENTHUSIASTIC about it. 

Now I want to state that I have never been a Tim Tebow fan--not when he played at Florida and not at Denver.  He has always rubbed me the wrong way--his Christianity is not the same Christianity I live, but it is a legitimate form of Christian faith.  So is mine.  One is not better than the other, they are just different.  And, one of those differences seems to be in the way that it is expressed--his has a lot of enthusiasm, mine is lacking in enthusiasm.  I think I need to get a little "tebowing" in my journey of faith--I need a little more enthusiasm.  Especially in church.  A little "tebowing" might liven things up--not only in my church but a lot of churches. 

After nailing the call to worship--tebow!  The choir shares an exceptional special--tebow!  Hit the sermon out of the sanctuary--tebow!  Big collection--tebow!  Wow the children with a powerful story of faith--tebow!  Those are things to get enthusiastic about--those are things to give God thanks for! 

That is faith that sells--faith that gets the people up out of the pews and on their knees!  That is what we need in the church today--a little enthusiasm.

Theologically I do not think that Tim Tebow and I are that close.  We both probably agree on the foundational pieces of faith, but from there we differ.  We could debate that all night long and still be no closer together than we were when we started.  It doesn't make either one of us right or wrong--it just means we disagree.  But the guy definitely has enthusiasm and is not afraid to show it.  I need a little of that enthusiasm--all of us in the mainline churches do.  Imagine what we could do if we had half of that enthusiasm . . . is that the kingdom I see up ahead?

We mainliners need a little enthusiasm--a little excitement to go along with our faith.  We need to quit avoiding the joy of our faith and start living it.  For too long we have held ourselves in check and avoided anything that displayed enthusiasm--we didn't want to appear ridiculous in front of others.  No Pentecost behavior for us--no barking, speaking in foreign languages, dancing around!  Nope, those are best left behind closed doors . . .

. . . but a little enthusiasm sure goes a long way in stirring up some excitement.  We need to celebrate our touchdowns within the church.  We need to spike that spiritual football and get down on our knees!  Our God is a good God--a loving God--a God of grace--who strengthen us, encourages us, and wants the best for us.  If that isn't something to get a little enthusiastic about, then I don't know what is.

People of faith have been doing it forever--we just didn't know that it was called "tebowing".  I think there was a reference to it in the story about the Magi, something about them falling on their knees and giving thanks to God.

Yep, I don't doubt Tim Tebow's enthusiasm.  Epiphany is a revelation of the Spirit and Presence of God . . . sometimes it is not revealed in the scriptures, but on the playing field.  May we discover that presence of God in journey through this season of Epiphany!