Jake the Plummer's Comments Down the Drain

1st Peter 3:15 and 16 say:
15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 

 After John Elway hung up the cleats as the legendary quarterback of the Denver Broncos, another lauded starter took the field - his name was Jake Plummer.   Interestingly enough, both those guys have been taken to task for comments about Tim Tebow, the current Denver starter, who is 5-1 in that role and has the team in position to make the NFL playoffs.   Elway, now a Broncos executive, has been seemingly less than enthusiastic about Tebow's success, saying in a recent interview that the team hasn't found its long-term starter.   Jake Plummer has resurfaced, and had these words about Tebow:

"Tebow, regardless of whether I wish he'd just shut up after a game and go hug his teammates, I think he's a winner and I respect that about him. 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 don't hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.

"Like you know, I understand dude where you're coming from ... but he is a baller."

And, not surprisingly, Tebow was graceful in his response:

"If you're married, and you have a wife, 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...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."

And, there was Tebow on the sidelines as Matt Prater lined up for the game-winning field goal in overtime against San Diego - in the familiar pose, now nicknamed, "Tebowing" or Te-BOW-ing.   So with humility and grace, Tim Tebow has once again shown us as Christians how to respond when we are criticized for expressing our faith.   He acts, as we talked about earlier this week, with conviction, rather than convenience.