The Promise
On September 27, 2008, after a loss to Mississippi, Tim Tebow made a speech now know as "The Promise", which has since been immortalized on a plaque outside of the football building on the University of Florida campus. The Gators went on to win the National Championship, and many people looked back at that speech as the catalyst that propelled them into the championship game. On that day, Tim Tebow said, "To the fans and everybody in Gator nation, I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal. Something Florida has never done here. I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play for the rest of the season. You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless."(Before we go on, let me state that I am not a Gator fan, but I am a Tim Tebow fan. I am grateful for his testimony and integrity.)
I have never been one to make New Year's Resolutions. I guess, I have always heard about people who make them and then break them within a week or two, and that didn't appeal to me. But I have been thinking about 2010, and Tim Tebow's quote came to my mind. What if we as Christians, Jesus followers, believers...however you want to label us...what if we made the same type of promise and carried through on it.
What if we said, "To all the people in the world, to those who believe in Jesus and those who don't believe in Jesus, I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. We have gotten so off focus from what really matters. We argue and bicker; we judge and are hypocritical; we hate and we lie; we are very much unchristian in the way we treat you. I promise you that you will never have seen a Christian love you more, treat you with more respect, serve you, honor you more than I will. You will never see a Christian more dedicated to obeying and following God, loving His Word, and telling more people about how much I am in love with Jesus. I will not be judgmental of you, and I will stop being a hypocrite. I will push all around me to go deeper in their faith and love for Jesus. And together we will show all the world who Jesus really is. God bless."
Can we make that our promise not only for 2010, but for the rest of our lives?
Promise
December 29, 2009 9:23 pm By Mike Calhoun
Great challenge Brad. I think we could make an incredible imprint on this world if we just lived what we say we believe. Thanks for the reminder.