Tim Tebow

For starters, if you don't like this guy, you are literally an idiot.

This weekend ended Tim Tebow's fairy tale, Disney-style season with the Broncos. I've never been more emotionally torn over a football game because although my team is the Patriots and I enjoyed watching them play so well, I hoped for a more competitive game and wanted to see Tebow perform well, win or lose.

But after the game ended, I realized that win or lose, football really isn't the reason we like Tim Tebow. Granted, the dramatic come-from-behind victories were always exciting and the touchdown pass in OT against the Steelers was beautiful, but that isn't why we like him. He was voted "Americas Favorite Athelete" this year. He beat out, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and various others who you have to admit  are better "athletes" on the court or field. So why do we like him?

BECAUSE HE'S THE MAN, in every sense of the word. He's a stand-up guy, through and through. He's nice to everyone, even his opponents. It's almost weird, but it puts a smile on their face. He brings out sick children and their families to watch him play and meets them before or after games to ensure they're having the time of their life. Non-religious people can't help but like him because he's a great guy and shows that men and athletes can still show moral excellence and be a valuable asset to humanity as a whole.

Christians, including myself, absolutely adore this guy. I used to joke (half-joke) that I wish we could make a new title for Christians besides "Christian" because I was sick of crazy people in the media making the title of "Christian" look like a bad thing. But for once, there's a Christian being showcased in the media who isn't being a psycho, walking around with "Thank God For Dead Soldiers" signs and being a judgmental hypocrite. The guy walks the walk, 100%, all the time, and have you heard him judge or condemn anyone for not living like him? Nope, and I'm pretty positive we never will. When Jesus was asked in Luke 10 what the greatest commandment was, he answered "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." That is how Tim Tebow lives, and the results speak for themselves. He is truly an inspiration to me as a man, a Christian, and yes, even as a sports fan.

So yes, although his 2011-2012 football season is over, this is by no means the last we'll hear of Tim Tebow. I have confidence he'll continue growing as an athlete and a quarterback, but I'm more excited to see him grow as a man of God who is, in all senses of the phrase, letting his light shine on the world.

One of Ghandi's most famous quotes on Christianity is "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians." I don't think he could have said that about Tim Tebow.

I Hate Crazy Christians

I rarely write a serious blog, let alone a blog about something that upsets me. There aren't many things in this world that bother me enough to cause me to react. Usually I just accept what happened and Google pictures of cute animals and go on living my life in blissful ignorance and pretending bad things don't happen. BUT, there is one thing I take seriously enough to defend at all costs, and that's my faith in Jesus.

For some reason there are modern Christians who have forgotten that they, too, aren't perfect and struggle with their own sins. How they ignore that, I have no idea, but they do. Not only do they ignore their own faults, but they use this self-righteous entitlement to attack everyone who doesn't agree with their points. Sadly I've thought many times that I wish there was a different term to use about my faith besides "Christian" because these psychopaths have ruined what that name means. "Christian" literally means "Christ like", and these people couldn't be farther from that.

While Jesus was on earth, there were homosexuals and people having abortions, but Jesus didn't waste His limited time here trying to protest those acts. He spent his time here LOVING PEOPLE and teaching His followers how to love. The point of the "Prodigal Son" parable was to lay aside your hate and stereotypes for people and love them sacrificially. When people asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, He  said  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" -Matthew 22:37-39. I don't know how people look over this, but Jesus came here to SAVE people and show them how much better life is following Him. He didn't come here trying to "battle" sinners, He came to show them an unconditional love unlike anything they've ever seen.

Let's be clear, the Bible NEVER says that God hates gay people. (The Bible actually says "God hates divorce", and the divorce rate is higher in the church than outside of it, but again people would rather ignore that because it's more fun to cast judgment then actually try to fix ourselves.) Yes, the Bible does condemn the act of homosexuality, but it also condemns lying, cheating, lusting, and a ton of other sins that I do far more than I should. God also doesn't hate you if you have an abortion. He would not stand on the side of the road with pictures of aborted fetuses trying to prevent you from having an abortion. He would invite you to His house, love you like you've never been loved before, care for you like you've never been cared for, and as you became closer to Him, his power and presence in your life would start to change your bad habits, not stupid signs, posters, and commercials.

Let me be clear to any Christians who think I'm being some kind of universalist and saying everyone's ok. I am not. In fact, I'm saying the opposite. No one is ok. We all suck. Bad. I sin every day and I claim to follow God, so how on earth can I judge people who don't claim to follow Him? It boggles my mind. I don't get how people can do it.

For the record, I am a Christian (again, for lack of a better term) and I love Jesus with all my heart. My faith in Him is the number one priority in my life. I'm trying every day to better myself as a man and as a Christian and with that comes changing my environment, my habits, and where I spend my time. But with that being said, I'm humbled daily by how far from perfection I am, and the closer I get to God, the more I realize how far from Him I really am.

I don't care where you're at in your faith, what bad habits you have, or what sins you struggle with, I promise to be here to love you and support you and be there for you as a fellow person struggling with his spiritual journey. I refuse to judge people who do things that I struggled with not long ago because I know what it's like to be there and I understand why people do what they do. I want to be the man who showed Christ-like love to people that other "Christians" wanted nothing to do with.

Love is louder than hate will ever be, I promise you that.