Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott, and Clayton Kershaw.  One is a motivational speaker, one is a current NFL quarterback, and one is a MLB pitcher.  Despite their different careers, these three men all have someone as their highest importance in life: God.  They all live their lives by God’s plan, and they often publicly profess this faith in their respective platforms.  

“I’m someone who is very outspoken about my faith, I’ve never been ashamed of it and any time I get the opportunity I always thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” said Tim Tebow, former Denver Broncos quarterback, during a post-game interview.  “If people are [still] talking about prayer or about my faith then I think that’s pretty cool.”

Tim Tebow brought what was known as ‘tebowing’ to the public audience back in 2011, a term that means getting down on a knee and praying despite what the crowd around you is doing.  Tebow may seem to be drawing attention to himself for his own selfish ambition, 

but he does it for reasons far from that.  He lives his life for the one who saved his: Jesus Christ.  Tebow publicly demonstrates his Christian faith because of his amazing platform that he has and the unique ability to be bold and not be ashamed of what he believes in.  Despite Tebow being the most outspoken about his faith, he isn’t the only athlete who is open to talk about it.

Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys has been seen taking part in ‘tebowing’ on the field, praying before games alone and with teammates.  Prescott has been through a lot in his life, even at a young age, as he lost his mother in his sophomore year of college at Mississippi State.  He started to write the word ‘faith’ on his wrists before games to remember the loss of his mother and to always keep his faith strong.  This is Prescott’s way to show the public that his faith means more to him than the game of football.

“I simply write the word ‘faith’ on there for the faith that my mom showed me; the relationship we built from the faith we had and my faith in God,” said Prescott in a USA Today interview.  

Contrary to Tebow, Prescott takes a more subtle approach to sharing his faith with the world, usually only talking about it if asked in interviews or when he wears it on his wrists.  Similar to this quiet profession of faith, Clayton Kershaw, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, also shares how important his trust in the Lord is to him and his baseball career.  

“All this baseball stuff, all the charities in Africa is all great, but the ultimate glory is not for us.  We’re not here to try and gain accolades for ourselves and gain fame for ourselves,” says Kershaw in an interview with Graham Bensinger.  “The reason I get to play baseball is to understand that He gave me these opportunities to glorify Him.”

Kershaw is arguably one of the best pitchers in the MLB and to hear him give the glory and credit to someone greater and more powerful is a very important message.  Kershaw can serve as a good role model for young fans around the world and share his story of how he plays for the glory of God in all that he does, and humbles himself despite all of his honors and fame.  These demonstrations of faith in professional sports can serve as a good reminder for Christian athletes to continue pursuing their faith and realize that it is okay to share what is most important in your life.  From Tim Tebow’s bold and outspoken representation, to Kershaw’s calm and quiet profession, these high level athletes playing for the Lord have a unique opportunity to demonstrate their Christian faith through sport.