The Right Way

We have been empowered to live life the right way - in a way that pleases God. That does not exempt us from hardship, but it does provides for us a sense of peace and satisfaction as we glorify Him and bear fruit. And, that includes how we operate in the context of human relationships. Hebrews 13 states:
4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

As SEC fans gather in Nashville this week for the men's basketball tournament, I want to go back to one of the most unusual questions perhaps ever asked by a journalist at the SEC Media Days event, which is held prior to the start of football season. The question: "Are you saving yourself for marriage?"

That question was jarring, perhaps out of context - didn't have to do with the regular stuff.  And, turns out, the journalist, who was working for America Online at the time, had a method to his madness.

From the website for Outkick, the company founded by that questioner, Clay Travis, we can read this:

Clay fired up his computer the next day to explain to the AOL FanHouse community why he asked the question.

“I asked because I believe it’s newsworthy and because, believe it or not, I thought Tim Tebow would answer the question by saying: “Yes, I am.” Which is exactly what he did," Clay told his audience.

“Why did I believe this? Because Tebow lives his faith. And I believe that living his faith is not artificial, he’s not pretending to be something he’s not. Further, I don’t believe that saving yourself for marriage is something to hide from. Not in the evangelical Christian faith that Tim Tebow practices in a Southern church and not in the evangelistic Southern church where I was raised.”

Travis has gone on to be not only one of the preeminent voices in sports media, as well as talk radio. Tebow, already a Heisman Trophy winner at the time, has played professional football and baseball, is also a leading personality in sports media, and a leading proclaimer of the gospel of Christ. 

Tim Tebow has done things the right way.  He has been blessed with wife Demi-Leigh, and now, they have been blessed with a child.  That same website, Outkick, devoted coverage to an event in the Tebows' lives recently. The article said that Tim "tied on a blindfold, grabbed a paint brush alongside his wife and started slapping paint on a canvas...," adding, "Then, the blindfolds were removed, and we had ourselves a Tebow baby gender reveal."

The Instagram post, including a video of the event, was embedded in the article.  Demi-Leigh wrote:

Our greatest blessing. We’ve been praying for her long before we knew her, and we’re beyond grateful that God chose us to be her parents. We can’t wait to meet you, baby girl! 

To create a meaningful piece of art for the nursery, we decided to find out the gender through painting! We chose two Bible verses—one for a boy and one for a girl—to add to the canvas once it was complete. The verse we want to speak over our baby girl is Psalm 25:4-5:
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
We pray that she always finds her identity in Christ and places her hope in His love and truth.

The writer of the Outkick piece, Joe Kinsey, said: "The Tebows get to keep that canvas as a keepsake." He adds: 

Let's face it, the Tebows will be incredible parents. They seem like the nicest people. They have cool dogs. They don't do much these days to be celebrities, which is refreshing. Tim still doesn't curse. He is still holier than thou. The guy is just pleasant.

And then there's Demi-Leigh. She comes over from South Africa, becomes a Great American citizen and does things like write children books and supports kids with disabilities alongside her husband.

So, here you have two sports journalists who are impressed by the witness of the Tebows.  And, even an unlikely source such as Clay Travis, recognized the importance of doing family the right way.  I think of my conversation with Delano Squires of The Blaze at NRB recently - we were talking about the way that relationships have developed these days, with men and women having sex and living together, perhaps even having a child or children before they even get married.  That's not God's plan.

He has given us a path to follow and an instruction book that provides the principles for living a life of obedience to Him.  Tim Tebow has done things the right way - and things have not always gone the way it seems that should.  He was not the greatest pro football player; I'm sure minor league baseball was hard. And, I'm sure he learned through what he endured.  But, there are more important things in life - and that is living for Jesus and enjoying the satisfaction that comes from knowing and following Him.