Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye blacks are making another trip around the internet. Here are the inspiring and shocking details of Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 story.
What’s so Special About Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 Eye Blacks?
Whether you’re still asking what eye blacks are, or you’ve seen Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye blacks for yourself, you may still be wondering what people mean when they refer to the John 3:16 story.
The Bible verse, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
And definitely, this verse is incredible when we think about its meaning. As Tim Tebow puts it, “It’s the essence of our hope.”
But the story of Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye blacks may just be the perfect example of the surprising and exciting ways God can get out His message of His love for us.
On multiple occasions, Tim Tebow has told this story to audiences. It’s not new, by any means. The central dates of this story are January 8, 2009 and January 8, 2012.
But today, a three-year-old video of Tim Tebow telling the John 3:16 story is viral again. Check it out here:
@christianinspirationals Tim Tebow Inspirational Football Story #timtebow #tebow #christiantiktok #jesus #floridagators #floridagatorsfootball #denverbroncos #inspirational ♬ original sound – Christian Inspirationals
In just about a week, the TikTok clip has been loved more than 534,000 times and shared more than 85,000 times.
Perhaps, God has a hand in this story of Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye blacks going viral again, and He’s reaching to let more people know of His love.
The story of Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye blacks begins, as he says “When I was at the University of Florida, going into my junior year…and I was in the training room…and I saw some of my teammates putting eye blacks under their eyes.”
The now Heisman Trophy winner tells his audience that as he pondered what message he’d like to put under his eyes, knew he wanted it to be “encouraging or inspiring,” and being a strong Christian, Tim Tebow wanted to point people to God in some way.
“And then I thought of Philippians 4:13. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ I was like, that’s an awesome verse for a football player. That’s what I’m going to go with.”
For the rest of the season, Tim Tebow’s eye blacks said Philippians 4:13, and according to him, “It really wasn’t a big deal.”
However, something happened when Tim Tebow went with his team to the SEC championship game. He felt God was telling him to change the verse.
As Tim Tebow explains, even though he’s normally ultra-focused when he’s with his team getting ready to run out of the tunnel, “at this moment, I really felt like God was putting out of my heart to change the verse. I was like, really? Right now?”
Tebow shared that he realized in the moment what a platform he had to get a message out about God’s love, being in the SEC championship game against Alabama.
The Florida Gators won that game and six weeks later they went to the national championships, and during that time, Tebow says he was “agonizing over what verse I was going to go with.”
And He says God did give him something. “God kept bringing to my heart in my head, John 3:16. Because as a Christian, that’s the essence of our Christianity…So I decided that’s the verse I’m going to go with.”
But, at the time Tim Tebow had no idea of the shocking way God was going to use his John 3:16 eye blacks…
