Famous in My Father’s Eyes

Hello tender friends!

I’m sorry this post is a day late. Anthony worked all weekend. So we spent the day at home yesterday just enjoying the time together since we hadn’t seen each other since Thursday. (It was also our 7-year anniversary, but we were a little too tuckered out to do anything).

So let’s get into the post I said I’d share. Remember Tim Tebow? He had a relatively short and disappointing NFL career. He is also a devout Christian and has since launched meaningful charities such as Night to Shine, which our current Church participates in every year.

Remember Carson Wentz? The quarterback who is also a devout Christian and showed tremendous promise, which greatly excited Anthony as a lifetime Eagles fan, but who ultimately left Philadelphia in 2020. He didn’t perform the way that so many Eagles fans had hoped and struggled to get along with his teammates.

Watching Christian athletes be so bold in their Christian faith is encouraging. But if I’m honest, I tend to want God to “pull a David and Goliath.” I found myself rooting for both of them to have very successful NFL careers, even though I don’t follow football, because I felt that they were representing Christian athletes everywhere. I wanted God to give them some special gifting that proves his physical might the way that he tore down the statues of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:3).

But God didn’t. Both athletes were dedicated and put in the time and effort required of every NFL player. (We could say that we don’t know how dedicated they really were, but I believe that every player who’s offered a lucrative contract works as hard as they can.)

This leads me to conclude that God chose not to give them a special gifting on the football field in a way that would set them apart as his representatives and have Hall of Fame worthy careers.

If God had set them apart and made them as successful as Tom Brady was in his career, some Christians would likely attribute it to God’s might. But what does it mean when God doesn’t act mighty to our human eyes?

Tim Tebow is 36. Carson Wentz is just 30. Both men may have their most glamorous years behind them at a young age.

But we don’t know what God’s greater plan is, do we? Is it possible that Tim Tebow is doing more for the kingdom of heaven by running Night to Shine and writing books than he ever could have achieved on the football field? Is it possible that Carson Wentz blessed and ministered to someone in the Midwest when he played there in a way he never could have achieved if he had stayed in Philadelphia? Is it possible that he won’t get signed this year and will enter ministry instead?

This is where Francesca Battistelli’s song “He Knows My Name” ministers to me. I adore the lines, “I don’t need my name in lights/I’m famous in my Father’s eyes.”

I don’t know the future career of Tim Tebow or Carson Wentz looks like. I don’t know what my own future career looks like with AI looming. I don’t know what Anthony’s future career looks like.

I just keep focusing on the fact that my Father’s love is not contingent on my career success, and that keeps me peaceful. I’m already famous in His eyes, which are the only eyes that matter. And so are you. You are famous in the eyes of the Creator of the universe, Abba, Father God.

Ok, that’s all for today, tender friends! I’ll be sharing a food post on Thursday. Thanks for stopping by today!

Thank you for sharing!

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