Tim Tebow: Here’s How We Start Making a Difference

Tim Tebow, a highly recognized speaker, entrepreneur, and college football analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, discusses his motivations for writing his New York Times bestselling book, Look Again: Recognize Your Worth Renew Your Hope Run with Confidence. Tebow, known previously as an NFL quarterback, two-time college football national champion, and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, focuses his latest work on recognizing the fixed and royal worth of every human life.

The Royal Worth Statement: Made in God’s Image

The core message of Look Again centers on understanding the profound meaning of being made in the image of God. Tebow explains that society, even within Christian circles, often defaults to defining the image of God (Imago Dei) in functional terms—as rational, relational, or functional (called to rule, reign, and subdue the earth).

However, Tebow realized that these definitions raised concerns regarding the approximately 16% of the world’s population that has some form of special need. He questions whether these individuals are somehow “less in the image of God” if they cannot perform these functions to the same extent. He believes the heart of God says “absolutely no” to this idea; everyone is created in His image, on purpose and for a purpose, and no one is less than or more than.

By studying ancient Near East scholars and historians, Tebow discovered that in the context where the Book of Genesis was written, the term “image of God” was historically reserved for kings or monarchs, such as an Egyptian pharaoh being the image of Raw, or an Assyrian king being the image of Bella. When readers in the ancient Near East encountered Genesis declaring this status for all of humanity, they would have understood it immediately as a royal worth statement. This perspective emphasizes that our inherent dignity comes simply because we were made in the image of the one who created everything.

This royal identity is reinforced in the New Testament: When believers accept Jesus, they are not only forgiven, reconciled, and redeemed, but also adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters of the King, making them royalty.

Fighting the Lie of Conditional Value

Tebow stresses the necessity of fighting the societal lie that some lives matter less. Human worth is fixed. Too often, society determines a person’s value based on what they do that is valuable to us. If someone does not contribute in a perceived valuable way, they are often overlooked or dismissed.

To truly grasp our value, we must look to the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection—the greatest love story and rescue mission of all time. Our worth in society is often determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. Since Jesus, the Son of God with infinite value and worth, was willing to give His life in exchange for ours, every single person has infinite value and worth.

When we see people as infinitely valuable to God, it should change how we treat them, preventing us from looking past or walking away from those who are suffering, exploited, trafficked, or abandoned.

Redefining MVP: Focusing on the Most Vulnerable People

Tim Tebow shares that God redefined the concept of MVP (Most Valuable Player) in his heart. While he spent much of his life chasing athletic success and championships, God convicted him to chase a more important MVP: the Most Vulnerable People.

If we are to focus on the Most Vulnerable People (MVP), the first crucial step is to see them through the lens of the Bible, specifically Genesis 1:5, 9, and the cross.

The example set by Jesus Christ is paramount:

• Jesus actively stopped and saw people; the Bible records Him seeing people approximately 67 times.
• He called people by their name, seeing past their sin, as demonstrated when He called Zacchaeus down from the tree.
• Historically, Jesus went up close and personal with people, calling them by name and treating them like royalty.
• Over 60% of Jesus’s publicly recorded miracles were for those who were afflicted (which would equate to those with special needs or disabilities in modern terms).
• Over 70% of His publicly recorded miracles were for those considered the MVP.

Tebow highlights Matthew 25, where Jesus makes caring for the MVP personal: “Whatever you have done to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you have done unto me”. When we look past, walk away from, or fail to care for the vulnerable, “it’s personal to Jesus”.