Note to readers: This is an email that I received this morning from a friend who serves as pastor in Kansas. Excellent posting. Excellent points!!

Tim Tebow has been accused of everything from incompetence to arrogance; from being a religious deceiver to being a zealot.

Five of five Fox broadcasters yesterday picked Pittsburgh to beat Denver. Two or three said Denver had absolutely NO chance of winning with Tebow at quarterback, and was the only team in the playoffs that just simply doesn’t belong there.

Hopeless and incompetent Tim threw for over 300 yards yesterday. When having thrown a lame duck pass near the end of the game that would have shaken the confidence of many quarterbacks, instead of “playing it safe” in overtime, he threw a touchdown bomb on the first play to win the game for Denver. Arrogant Tim said he was just doing his job.

And religious deceiver Tim passed for exactly 316 yards – notably reflecting the sign that so many have held behind the goalposts for years in the NFL – John 3:16. Could Tim have deceived his receivers into accumulating that many yards? Did his zealousness result in that number? Or was he just – as he puts it – doing his job – NOT JUST his NFL job.

After all, if this was any other quarterback throwing for 316 yards, would people even be having this discussion?

Is there a lesson here about rising above the quips and accusations and slanderous characterizations thrown against you? Is there a lesson here about moving on past your failures? Is there a lesson here about humbly “just doing our job” in a way that allows Christ to draw attention to himself?

J. Martin