Did you SEE the game yesterday?!? *SPOILER ALERT*  the Broncos beat the Steelers !!

It was really amusing, even more so now, to hear the “experts” looking ahead to the Steelers / Patriots game all week. The Broncos were already an afterthought. The “magic is over” they said after Denver had lost three straight games to finish the regular season.  Tebow-time was a passing amusement but his time was done.

Whoops!

Tebow has been the target of unrelenting scrutiny this season because of his faith and probably more specifically his expression of that faith. Mocked, attacked, abused, berated by most of those commentating on his performance. People have wondered openly, even in the press, if God is a Tim Tebow fan because, they said, he really is bad. From the spectacular series of games he has won, and lost, it would appear that there could be a case.

But what about all the other guys in the NFL who openly proclaim faith in God? The guys who lead prayer with their teams and give God the credit when they win, doesn’t God support them too? At the end of the day does God really care about sports at all?

The “theological answer” is probably no. God doesn’t have a fantasy team, (now THERE’S a picture for you) nor does He watch the over / under on who should win, nor does He send angels to knock balls out of receivers hands. If He did then it would be plausible that one team could out-pray their opponent to a win every week. No, most scholars would say God doesn’t care about sports.

Let me suggest a different answer though. I think God DOES care about sports…when it is the right time for Him to care about sports. What do I mean by that you ask? Sounds kinda fickle doesn’t it?

I think God cares about His people.
I think that God cares about His name being glorified.
I think God cares about people coming to know Him.
I think God cares about honoring those who honor Him.

That being said I think the situation surrounding Tim Tebow this season has created a set of conditions where God DOES care about sports. Now, I’m not saying He is handing the Broncos wins. (Though if they win the Super Bowl I WILL go that far) What I am saying is that the press frenzy around Tim Tebow brought God into the game. I think God is sticking up for Tim.

Is God completing passes and breaking tackles? No, but is He perhaps giving Tebow and extra does of calm and a sense of His presence that allows Tim to perform at max potential? Maybe so, and why not? The press attacked God’s representative, not His only rep but certainly the one in the spotlight, so why wouldn’t God have Tim’s back? If the press had NOT gone after him like they did I wonder if the Broncos season would already be done.

I think God cares about sports when circumstances come together in such a way that there is opportunity for His kingdom to be advanced. It would not surprise me if someday we find out that God even played a direct hand in wins and losses. Not always, but when the time was right for kingdom advancement.

Now before you get all up in theologically offended arms consider this: If God cares about His people and His kingdom infinitely more than He cares about the outcome of a football game then the outcome of a football game is incredibly trivial in the grand scheme of things and thus God’s intervention is a non-issue.

I remember an at bat in a softball game some fifteen years ago. I often would offer up a small prayer on my way to the plate asking God to help me play to the full potential He’d given me. On this occasion though I was conflicted. You see, I was a youth pastor and I had a BUNCH of my kids in the stands at this particular game.

Was stopping to pray before stepping into the batters box just for show? No, I didn’t think so but would it look fake?  Should I just say it in my head without pausing? I wrestled with all these conflicting thoughts as I stepped one foot in the batters box.

Then I heard a voice in my head: If you honor Me I will honor you.

I took a step back and said a quick prayer, didn’t even cover it up by kicking dust. I stepped back into the batters box and quietly ripped a three run homer into right center field on the first pitch. I rounded the bases chuckling. I crossed home plate, looked up at my students in the stands cheering, winked and pointed to the sky. I told them the whole story after the game.

Does God care about sports? He does when sports suit His greater purposes. In ways we’ll never fully comprehend.

What if God did have a fantasy team? Who do you think He’d pick?