Ep 1275 | Tim Tebow Opens Up About Where He’s Fallen Short as a Christian

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Unashamed with the Robertson Family
Episode: Ep 1275 | Tim Tebow Opens Up About Where He’s Fallen Short as a Christian
Date: February 23, 2026
Host(s): Al, Jase, Jason, Aaron, Zach
Special Guest: Tim Tebow

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on faith, humility, and the transformative power of the Gospel as seen through the life and reflections of NFL legend Tim Tebow. The discussion revolves around Tim’s new book, If the Tree Could Speak, exploring how the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus can be personalized, the challenges of living an authentic Christian life (even for high-profile believers like Tim), and the lessons of grace, purpose, and perspective. Rich with personal stories and spiritual insight, the conversation is designed to resonate with both new and longtime believers in practical, heartfelt ways.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Robertson Family Banter & Setup

• The hosts engage in friendly teasing (Jase being late, the aftermath of a recent storm, and chainsaw escapades).
• Sets an informal, close-knit tone for the episode, mixing humor with spiritual depth.

2. Introducing Tim Tebow (10:10)

• Tim joins the show and expresses gratitude for the opportunity to talk faith:
  “Thank you guys so much for having me. So grateful. Looking forward to this and just being with you guys. And thank you for your love for Jesus and for being unashamed.” (10:26, Tim Tebow)
• The crew discusses their sports rivalries (LSU vs. Florida) and how their respect for Tebow grew because he was genuine in his faith even as an opponent.
• Jase confesses his initial skepticism about Tim, reinforcing the realness that can be missing from public figures:
  “I guarantee you that guy's a hypocrite... Then I met him and I was like, oh darn. Well, you exceeded my expectation.” (11:55, Jason)

3. Humility, Honesty, and Hypocrisy in Christian Walk (13:15)

• Tebow emphasizes that he is “absolutely...a hypocrite,” acknowledging daily shortcomings and the need for grace: “Christianity is not about this race to go from average to a little bit better or good to great. Christianity is dead to alive… I just would tell everybody, man, you look at me long enough and I, I promise I'm going to let you down, unfortunately. But you look at Jesus, he's never going to let you down.” (13:15, Tim Tebow)
• Sets a tone of spiritual transparency; no one is above falling short.

4. Life Changes—Marriage and Fatherhood (15:12)

• Tim discusses the blessings and challenges of marriage and fatherhood: “I never played on special teams, but I definitely out kicked my coverage, right? ...God does so much in marriage of refining you in it, of challenging you in it, of molding you in it, because you also realize how far you are from where you need to be.” (15:12, Tim Tebow)
• Talks about the weight of responsibility after bringing his daughter home: “I think the level of responsibility is so heightened…where's the manual?... God uses so many of these things in life to continue to show you the areas that you need to grow.” (15:40, Tim Tebow)

5. Origin and Message of 'If the Tree Could Speak' (22:47)

• Tim tells the emotional backstory: inspired by a sleepless night, a sermon, and Luke 19:40 (“If they don’t praise me, the rocks will cry out”).
• Describes being moved to tears by the idea that the cross itself might want to proclaim Jesus, but Jesus gave that responsibility to people.
• Deep introspection:
  “If God gave the tree the ability to speak, what would he have said to Jesus?...I could only imagine Jesus saying to me, to the cross, no, I didn't give you that job. I gave you the job to hold me up high and you're doing a good job. I gave them that job.” (22:47-26:30, Tim Tebow)
• Admits feeling personal conviction for times he has been too quiet about the Gospel and traces this to “either I don’t really believe the gospel or I don’t really love people enough.”

6. The Heart of the Gospel—Grace & Transformation (29:00-35:00)

• Tebow breaks down the essentials:
  • The gravity of what we’re saved from: “...not just, oh, sin nailed Jesus to the cross. No, my sin...”
  • The nature of what (and who) we’re saved by: “A king that loves us so much, was willing to go to the cross…”
  • The purpose of what we’re saved for: “...we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works…”
• Quote:
  “…Jesus knew God had to turn his back on him so he would never have to turn his back on us...” (33:13, Tim Tebow)

7. Personifying the Cross—Why the Metaphor Works (36:34)

• The story’s power is in personalizing the cross—a tree with dreams, disappointments, and finally, ultimate purpose.
• The narrative parallel: our own ambitions may be redirected by God for greater good.
• Al:
  “He was…hopes that I want to be…And then of course, the world gets him and it's totally different. It winds up in the shame…But then of course, something changes…And that's what the cross does. It should personalize it for every one of us.” (36:34-37:49)

8. God’s Transformative Power & the Scandal of the Cross (38:42)

• Tim unpacks how the cross turned from a symbol of execution and shame to one of hope.
• “You look what our God can do. Our God can take what is meant for evil and he can turn it into something for good…” (38:42, Tim Tebow)
• The Romans’ aim: to shame and display power—God’s answer: ultimate redemption.

9. A Book for All—Children, Families, & Non-Believers (42:43, 45:20, 49:07)

• The book is short, poetic, and lavishly illustrated, purposely written for accessibility.
• It’s already opening conversations—Jason describes how a card game turned into a Gospel chat at the mention of the book.
• Ideal for families—Aaron (with five kids) looks forward to reading it at bedtime as part of his family’s nightly liturgy.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Tebow on Humility:
  “I am far from the role model that I should be. But I'm trying to grow in that sanctification every day of it. I'm just grateful that God uses screw ups and therefore I'm not disqualified.” (13:15)
• On the Story’s Genesis:
  “If God's creation is so ready and wanting to praise him… how much more so would the tree that Jesus died on want to praise him?” (22:47)
• On Personal Accountability:
  “...I have chose people liking me over them knowing the love of God. And that was just some of the heart behind this…” (27:50)
• On the Scandal of the Cross:
  “How ironic that I, the cross, once a symbol of pain, would now be a symbol of hope in Jesus name.” (45:20)
• Tebow’s Reason for Writing:
  “I just never want the gospel to get old and I want to be callous to it because it is everything and it changes everything.” (34:30)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 10:10 — Tim Tebow joins; discussions of sports rivalry and faith
• 13:15 — Tim’s humility and admission of shortcomings as a Christian
• 15:12 — Tim on marriage and fatherhood
• 22:47 — Origin of If the Tree Could Speak; Tebow’s emotional epiphany
• 29:00-35:00 — Gospel essentials: grace, gravity, and purpose
• 36:34 — Book’s personification of the cross discussed
• 38:42 — Power and redemption of the cross as a spiritual symbol
• 42:43 — Simplicity and audience: why this book works for everyone
• 45:20 — Book’s poetic summary and power of metaphor
• 49:07 — Teaching children “the cruciform life”
• 52:10 — The role of the Holy Spirit and “ears to hear”

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Key Takeaways

• Authentic Christian life is marked by humility, self-examination, and frequent repentance.
• The cross—a once-shameful instrument—becomes the ultimate symbol of hope, and Christians are given the privilege and duty to proclaim that story, not just the rocks.
• Tim Tebow’s new book offers a fresh, emotionally rich way to consider the Gospel, accessible to children and adults alike.
• Personal failures and shortcomings do not disqualify anyone from God’s love or His purposes.
• The power of Gospel storytelling: A simple, honest narrative can open conversations and hearts—sometimes more so than overt preaching.

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Final Thoughts

The episode is a moving conversation about how Christianity is not about self-improvement but about recognizing our utter dependence on grace. With humor, honesty, and practical wisdom, Unashamed episode 1275 brings the beauty of the Gospel into fresh focus—reminding every listener that no matter where they’re starting, the love and sacrifice of Jesus transformed not just the cross, but every surrendered life.

Transcript

[Al]

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[Tim Tebow]

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[Tim Tebow]

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[Jason]

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[Aaron]

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[Jason]

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[Tim Tebow]

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[Al]

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[Tim Tebow]

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[Jason]

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[Tim Tebow]

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[Jason]

I am unashamed. What about you?

[Al]

Welcome back to Unashamed.

[Jason]

We.

[Al]

There's a buzz in the air. Jase was late to the buzz. Jason, thanks for being late. We got a very special guest coming up today.

[Jason]

I know.

[Al]

He's in our virtual waiting room and now we're waiting on you.

[Jason]

We're actually good friends with this guest and this will be spectacular. I will go ahead and preview that.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jason]

But I just figured I had a lot of things happen out. I can tell you the story at some point, but I had a lot of.

[Al]

I'll let you explain it to our guests later.

[Jason]

I had a lot of self imposed delays this morning, but I figured, oh, this guy's a big deal.

[Aaron]

You imposed them on yourself.

[Jason]

Yeah, I did. Yeah. These were all.

[Al]

Are these still storm related? Is it still related to it sometimes? Still dealing with that?

[Jason]

Yeah. Well, it was kind of like a guy last night I was talking to and he was talking about his. He's on his fifth wife. And I just had to do it in the spirit of Phil. I thought at some point you got to ask yourself the question, is it me? Is it you?

[Aaron]

Did you say that?

[Jason]

Did you say it? And I was kind of kidding, you know? And this dude's face fell and he's like, I mean. And I thought, what? Well, maybe you need to hear that. But what he say when you said

[Tim Tebow]

that, what was the response?

[Jason]

He was like, are you serious? I was like, yes. I mean, I was kind of kidding. But now that you put me on the spot, just saying a little self inventory once in a while. So I was.

[Al]

You were so right. In the spirit of Phil, because the first time I heard that dad told that to Terry Bradshaw after having not talked to him in 40 something years. And Bradshaw. And dad says, bradshaw, I've noticed something about you, son. He said, you can't seem to hold on to a woman. Yeah. I mean, that's Dad's life. And, I mean, my eyes got big and I thought, dad, do you. And he said, I know it, Phil. He said, the last one left me when I was standing there eating a bowl of cereal in my underwear. She just said, I'm out of here. He said, what is. What do you think's wrong? He said. And he said, it might be you, Bradshaw.

[Jason]

It might be because you were standing there in your underwear eating a bowl of syrup. And I remember him saying, that's why my hair fell off. Fell out.

[Al]

I mean, all that was true.

[Jason]

No, I think, you know, it's like yesterday, Jeff came over and he's like. He bought him a little saw because we got all these trees everywhere. And he said, I can't get this. This saw to work, you know, while I looked at it. And I was like, jeff, it's a toy that somebody put. It's a saw. And I'm sure it was cheap, and you bought it. That's for. That's for, like, trimming a little branch off a small, small bush. But then I realized at some point, he wasn't bringing that saw over for me to say, what's wrong with this saw? He was doing that for me to go over there and clean up his yard with my saw, which is what happened. So after about two hours, I said, jeff, you know that I realized what you were doing two hours ago, but you're my brother, and I did it anyway.

[Al]

You know, it's funny, Jason, we all have the same relationship with Jeff because he's like our little brother, but he's quite a bit younger than us, so it's almost like you're a second dad or an uncle or something, because he does me the same way. He'll come up with some bad situation, and I know what he's want me to do.

[Jason]

Yeah. And he made an investment. Look, he went and paid probably $30 for this saw, knowing it. I mean, his yard looked like a tornado. And he's like, then I'll take it over there once I break the chain off of it, which he did. And I'll be like, well, let me. You know, let me go down there and take a look at this. But, you know, it was some good bonding time.

[Al]

So I know that you guys out there in Unashamed nation are saying to yourselves, man, they're still talking about this storm. That's the level of this storm. We're now. Weeks are going by and we're still digging out from everything that happened to us. This thing was unbelievable that when they. I heard the word catastrophic when they were talking about the storm, and I kind of rolled my eyes and thought, oh, here, here are these weather people going all. But they were right about this one, Al.

[Jason]

This is the least amount of stress that I've had in years because my working out regime, which is if you see me sawing trees or cutting splitting logs, I usually just do that when I'm frustrated or tense. Well, I'm having to do this now just so we can get down. You know, I'm walking down to Jeff's house, and so we're doing so much of it, is my point. Yeah.

[Al]

So you're getting a lot of good workouts? Oh, yeah, it's good.

[Jason]

I'm not going to complain about my injuries, but I did injure my wrist, and so that was one of the reasons I was late because I reached down and grabbed my coffee cup, which I'm going to do with both hands right now. And when I picked it up, a pain just shot up my arm because I forgot my wrist was hurt. But I'm like, if I can't pick up a cup of coffee, maybe I need to look into this. So here's what happened. When I left the house, I realized about two minutes into it that I set this down because it hurt my wrist. And I thought I hurt myself over that coffee, and now I've left it. So I had to do a U turn and go back and get my coffee. That was the first part of the delay.

[Al]

Well, Jason, it sounds like to me, maybe your workout regimen that you're so proud of, maybe you may be getting a little long in the tooth for the deep dive you're doing into this tree cutting process. You may have to take a little, little time off to get away from. You have to do what I did. I loaded up and told my kids. I said, all right, I helped you get through it. Now I'm heading down to somewhere that's sunnier and there's no trees down. So you handle the cleanup. Take care.

[Jason]

Well, then I made my wife mad because she said, oh, she thought I came back to kiss her. And I was like, well, actually, I came back to get my coffee and because I hurt my hand picking it up and I. And now I left it. So she she said, I know where you left it. Look, she came back and brought my coffee, and she had two Advil in her hand. That's a good woman.

[Al]

All right, so we've kept our guests waiting long enough. When we come back from this break, we have a very special guest, and one of our, one of our members of our team is tingling with anticipation over who we have coming up today. So you'll see on the other side of this break, we'll see them. So, Jason, second amendment is always an important one for us because the right to bear arms is the right to protect ourselves.

[Tim Tebow]

Right.

[Jason]

We have guns and we know how

[Al]

to use them, but we want to be safe at the same time. We got little kids around at this

[Jason]

stage of our life, there's always little kids around. And that's why we came up with

[Al]

a new sponsor, Stopbox Stopbox Pro. And you've got one there in front of you. I do.

[Jason]

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[Al]

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[Jason]

I like it because it's keyless and I can't keep up with keys.

[Al]

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[Jason]

You need some wilderness in your life.

[Al]

Welcome to Unashamed.

[Jason]

This is getting funny. I'm really excited about this. You know, for a bunch of country bumpkins, we run a pretty professional. I mean, this studio I'm in, it's

[Tim Tebow]

like, yeah, this from the guy that's late. We run a pretty professional.

[Jason]

Always remember this, Thibault. If you're late, you better have a story.

[Al]

So welcome back to Unashamed Our mystery guest has arrived. We're super excited about. This is a big day for Unashamed. One of our favorite people on the planet, the Florida gator legend himself, Tim Tebow. Welcome to.

[Tim Tebow]

Thank you. Thank you guys so much for having me. So grateful. Looking forward to this and just being with you guys. And thank you for your love for Jesus and for being unashamed. So grateful.

[Al]

So before we, before we started, Aaron, earlier we were talking to you a little bit, to you, and I had to get this 500 pound gator out of the way because Zach is a major fanboy and he's trying to act all cool because he's met you before, but like his heart's pounding, you know, he's. He's singing the Gator in My chest right now.

[Jason]

It's kind of sad, really. I feel sorry for you. I'm embarrassed for you, Zach, but for

[Aaron]

being a Gator fan. Our TVO fan.

[Jason]

Yeah. For being nervous now.

[Aaron]

Well, we're going to make it. We're going to make it work. But it is good to have you here for sure. I'm the only gator on this thing and every time we win a national championship in basketball or something, like recently these guys give me a hard time, so.

[Tim Tebow]

Well, you know, it does feel good that we could get that championship last year. It's been too long since we've got in football, so at least we can celebrate basketball. So.

[Al]

So Jason told Tim earlier that you and I had to repent. You may not have. I don't. You may still be a wayward sinner, but that I had to repent because when Tim was slaying our tigers back in his glory days at Florida that we, we didn't really like him, but we loved him because he was our brother and he was like so bold for Jesus. And now that all that football is behind us, we just love him.

[Jason]

Oh, Al, I had repentance. I had repentance because, Thibaut, I didn't like you, man, because you were a Florida gator and when you came to lsu you did a little phone thing and I was like, I guarantee you that guy's a Hypocr. I bet $100 this is all. Then I met him and I was like, oh, darn. Well, you exceeded my expectation. Which I, I use your story a lot because, I mean, you know how this is. We meet a lot of famous people in our world and you're constantly disappointed because you're like, oh my goodness, this person really needs Jesus. And I mean, they're in trouble. I mean, I have that over and over happen. It's just what you're seeing, the image they're portraying through their music or acting or whatever. And it's usually disappointing or even professional athletes because there's so many temptations and vices in that world and. But Tim, I have to admit, you know, I met you, I was like, okay, he exceeded my expectations. Then I met your family and your parents and I just fell in love. And all the work that you do and in a weird world, we're actually friends because we don't have anything in common besides, he looks, he looks good.

[Al]

He, he doesn't look like he just came in off a homeless row. Yeah, there's a lot of differences.

[Tim Tebow]

We do have a lot of differences. But you know what's cool? We have a lot in purpose. And you know, I would first probably echo those thoughts of. I appreciate the, the nice words and compliments, but you know, when, you know, people share things like that, the first thing I want to share is absolutely, I'm a hypocrite, man. I fall short of the grace of Jesus every day. And Christianity is not about this, this race to go from average to a little bit better or good to great. Christianity is dead to alive. And there was nothing that we could do or that I could do, that I was a sinner, saved by grace. For by grace that I have been saved. Faith, it is not of my works. It is the gift of God. So no one can boast. But if we do boast, we boast on him. And I just would tell everybody, man, you look at me long enough and I, I promise I'm going to let you down, unfortunately. But you look at Jesus, he's never going to let you down. So I am far from the role model that I should be. But I'm trying to grow in that sanctification every day of it. I'm just grateful that God uses screw ups and therefore I'm not disqualified.

[Aaron]

Yeah.

[Jason]

Amen.

[Al]

I love it. What a great wor.

[Jason]

Set the tone, the bar is high.

[Al]

So, Tim, I gotta ask you this because we, we were talking before we started air and I told you the last time I'd seen you, we just happened to run into you at an airport in Amsterdam, of all places, and your whole family was with you and this is before you were married and so just had a great conversation with your mom and dad, who I've really gotten to love and know and have great conversations with. But I wanted to know since I haven't talked to you since then. What's. What's life been like now with a wife and a daughter since the last time I talked to you? How has that blessed you in terms of, you know, your life you're living now?

[Tim Tebow]

Well, it kind of changes everything, let's be honest, right?

[Jason]

You.

[Tim Tebow]

You just the blessing of marriage. And man, like, I never played on special teams, but I definitely out kicked my coverage, right? And. And I am just so grateful. I just, you know, I love Demi and just so grateful for the relationship we get to have. And I just think that God does so much in marriage of.

[Jason]

Of.

[Tim Tebow]

Of refining you in it, of challenging you in it, of molding you in it, because you also realize how far you are from where you need to be. And then I think on top of that, when you. You're blessed with kids and we only have one right now, and Daphne, but then you're also the. I think the level of responsibility is so heightened. Like, I just remember when. When we came home from the hospital and we put Daphne down in the bassinet, I was like, okay, Demi, what do we do now? Like, what's. What's this? What's the seven step plan? Where's the. Like, where's the manual? Where's the game plan? Like, where's, like, you know, day one install and then like. And it's just. It's kind of surreal. But I just think how God uses so many of these things in life to continue to show you the areas that you need to grow. And the challenge of it and the responsibility and the blessing all at the same time. I just think it's just so freaking cool.

[Al]

It is.

[Jason]

Tim, I read your book last night. I was in a worldly environment in front of people, and I get so nervous because someone I respect, we're friends, because I thought, man, he's coming here to promote this book. And what if I don't like it because I have to? I'm going to repent a lot today. Oh, I said, what's it called? And it's if the tree could speak. And I thought, well, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. That was my initial, because, look, I was like, these Florida gangs, Gator, Gainesville. That was my response. Maddie was a witness to that. Did I not say it? And look, we just had an ice storm, and every tree within 100 miles of here has fallen. Which is why I was late today, which was embarrassing. I walked in, I thought, tebow, he'll be late. Anyway, I was Trying to take a picture because we did this whole thing about Mexican whistling tree ducks in a previous podcast somewhere. And a tree. Multiple trees have fallen in our pond. And I'm driving by today, and I look, and there's 12 of these ducks lined up on this fallen tree. It was really beautiful because I said this was just some pruning here. All these trees lost their limbs. But give it a year because it's kind of a reflection the earthly problems and storms. It reflects our lives. And I thought, this is. This is going to be better for the trees. But anyway, when I heard that, I was. I've been chainsawing so much, and I thought, if the tree could speak. They're screaming all around me right now just because of the damage that had been done. So it kind of caught me in a weird emotional moment. But anyway, I tried to take the picture, but then I look up and there's a car coming. So I pull over on the side of the road. Well, then I come find my. My phone because it had fallen between the seats. Well, then I looked up, and now there's a car in front of me. And I'm like, I've stopped civilization here to try to get this picture, which I never got because I never found my phone. So I honked the horn wave. I was late. That was my story. I thought it was kind of weird.

[Aaron]

That's the rabbit hole. That's the rabbit hole.

[Al]

There's a rabbit hole.

[Jason]

That was the rabbit hole. Well, the backstory of that was so thiebaud. My wife says we were doing this thing for our local Christian school. And she's like, why don't you get Tebow to come and speak? I was like, babe, he's never come. We met him, like, twice. We went to his event. But she said, well, he said, if there's anything I can do for you. And I was like, let me just be clear. He's not coming to Fun Row, which our name of our town is Monroe. And I said, he's not coming to Fun Row, Louisiana. Just on a whim. And she's like, I think he would. And send him a text. I was like, okay, this is embarrassing. So I sent him a text. He's like, yeah, when you want me to be there? And you actually came and did that. So I look like an idiot.

[Al]

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[Jason]

Well, it did because I was glad that he tried it first. And now I got me a bottle, but I wanted to make sure. Okay, this works.

[Al]

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[Jason]

But while you were here, he was there a couple hours and he's like, where do you go to work out? And I was like, work out? I work outside. And so I took him to Willie's yard because the tree had fallen, and I gave him an ax and actually took a picture. It's out there on social media somewhere. And somebody said it went viral, I guess, and I was like working out with Tim Tebow. Just ordinary.

[Al]

Welcome to Lizard.

[Jason]

You remember that, Tim?

[Tim Tebow]

Of course I do.

[Jason]

Yeah. So that's what I've been doing. So I did take a picture. I've been working out a lot. I took a picture of my yard before I came up here.

[Aaron]

I did get to that. But the tree keeps coming up, though, so that was.

[Jason]

That's.

[Aaron]

That's great. The title work. You know, Tim, when you and your. I wanted to ask you, in your author's notes, you. You said that this whole idea came to you while you were listening. So many priests during the sermon. And I wanted to get a little backstory on that.

[Jason]

What.

[Aaron]

And then I know we're going to talk about what the book is. It's really good, by the way.

[Al]

It is excellent.

[Aaron]

Yeah. What was it in that sermon? What was it that spurred you to spark that sparked your mind to write this?

[Tim Tebow]

Well, I'm not a great sleeper. And one morning I couldn't sleep. Super early in the morning, I got up, I went down to our TV room, and I was just kind of rolling out my legs on some therapy. Therapy like lacrosse balls and stuff, while I was playing Madden. And then I put on a sermon, and I was listening to my pastor here in Jacksonville, Pastor Joby Martin. And it really wasn't on what the sermon was about. But, you know, sometimes you're listening to something and then you. You. Something hits your brain, and you start going down a rabbit trail, as we've heard today. And then all of a sudden, I just get onto this thought that I had had in a couple previous times, but just never as profound of really kind of thinking about Luke 19:40, when Jesus is making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the Pharisees are saying, like, quiet everybody down, like. And because they're praising him, and he says, you know, if they don't praise me, the rocks will cry out. And I just started thinking and really got convicted and became very emotional and started weeping on the floor. And of man, how many times in my life have other forms of God's creation been so wanting to praise him? Because I have stayed so quiet because I didn't do my job. And then the next thought that I had was, as I'm thinking about this, I just started to think, man, if God's creation is so ready and wanting to praise him for who he is, because they know who God is, is right. They've been created. They know their Creator. And if. If the rocks are so wanting to praise him, how much more so would the tree that Jesus died on want to praise him? And so I just get on this thought in my head, and it just won't leave me. And a couple days later, me and Wyatt and Kevin, who are on our team, we fly to. To go preach at an event. And on our way there, I just share very emotionally what I was thinking about and why it starts just jotting it down and voice recording. We kind of talk. And I don't know. I don't know if I want to do anything with this. It's just a thought that you feel like, convicted that I don't know what to do. I just think I'm supposed to share this with somebody. And so we don't know anything of what we want to do, but we just start kind of jotting down these thoughts. And I don't know if it's a children's book, if it's grown up book, if whatever. It's a changing of perspective that I feel like God was challenging me in my perspective of how I was thinking about just in my tenderness to Calvary's cross, to tenderness to the love of God. And so we ended up going back and telling the story of when this tree was first a little seed and then growing up and blossoming and then with hopes and dreams of maybe being turned into a door or a table or a throne, and then those dreams being dashed when it's, you know, cut into and then made into a cross. Literally an instrument of shame for excruciating pain. Like in history, the cross was made as an instrument of torture and shame and guilt that was literally created for excruciating pain, that it's a symbol for all of these terrible things. And now this cross with these dreams is made into that. Not realizing that one day he was going to be a throne and it was going to be a. A disfigured throne, but a throne that was going to hold up the king of Kings. And that it was going to be a doorway because of what Jesus did. It was going to be part of that doorway for us to get into heaven because of the love of God. And I could only think, just when I was thinking about this, if God gave the tree the ability to speak, what would he have said to Jesus? And I could only imagine this thought of, like, when he finally came to know the love of God and the love that Jesus had and felt the blood of Jesus on his core. Like, if he just said, with all these people mocking Jesus, if the tree could speak, what would he really say? And I think he would tell Jesus, hey, Jesus, if you would just give me a voice for a little bit, I'll tell them all. I'll tell them all who you are. I'll tell them all of your love. I'll tell them all. And I could only imagine Jesus saying to me, to the cross, no, I didn't give you that job. I gave you the job to hold me up high and you're doing a good job. I gave them that job. And I just started to think, like, man, how often I haven't done my job, like, and I, you know, I've just over the last few years been really convicted. Why so many times in my life have I not been willing to share the greatest love story, rescue mission of all time? Because the cross and Christ crucified is the only thing that changes everything about everything. It is the only thing that if if the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection ascension of Jesus Christ is true, then it changes everything. It changes the past, it changes the present, it changes the future. If it is not true, then everything else is awash. It's irrelevant. It all comes down to the cross. And if the cross is true, which I believe with my whole heart, that is true. Why so many times have I been unwilling to share? And I really came down to two things. One, either I don't really believe the message of the gospel, or two, I don't really love people enough because I couldn't actually find another excuse for why so many times I just wasn't willing to share. And you could find them all over the place. But, man, it really came down ultimately to those two things. Did I just really not believe the gospel, or did I really not love people enough that I was willing to care more about them liking me than them knowing Jesus? And I feel like I failed at that so much that I have chose people liking me over them knowing the love of God. And that was just some of the heart behind this and trying to tell this in a fresh new way where people would get a new perspective and we wouldn't grow callous to the cross. Because some of my favorite heroes in the faith, especially my mom and dad, when you bring up Calvary's cross, man, they can't help but get emotional because they're so tender to it. And we just, I think sometimes in the churchy world, we grow up in it and it just becomes these, like, words and phrases we say all the time, and we forget the tenderness and the compassion and the sacrifice that we need to. And the reverence we need to hold when we talk about the cross. Because severity, because it is everything. And I think when we really understand the gospel, I think there's three things that really stand out. One is we realize the gravity of what we have been saved from, that we have been saved from eternal separation from God. There is a weight into gravity that it's not just, oh, sin nailed Jesus to the cross. No, my sin, my sin nailed Jesus. Like the whips. That whip Jesus should be named after me. The nails should be named after me. There's a weight and a gravity to understand. Because how do you really understand grace if you don't understand what you have been saved from, right? And so I think it starts by understanding what you have been saved from. That it's not like, oh, you were extortive, average, and now you're a little bit better. It's no bro you were dead and because of Christ you were made alive with him, period. Flat out, you know, and then it's, we have to understand who we have been saved by, that we have been saved by a king that loves us so much, that was willing to go to the cross, didn't want to, but did it anyways. It's literally like, dad, if there's another way, take this cup from me, but not my will. Thy will be done. I'll do it anyways because I love you and I want to obey my father and I love humanity and I'm going to go to the cross anyways. And he takes on the sin of the world. He first of all he takes on the physical pain which we can't even imagine. Then he takes on the sin of the world. And I just can't even possibly comprehend, you know, the Bible tells us that he be that he became sin on our behalf. Like we can't even, I just, like I can't even imagine what that's like.

[Aaron]

Al, do you remember when you got your first term life insurance policy?

[Al]

I do and the blessing of it for me. I was very young, I was in seminary and a very wise gentleman who sold insurance came to me and said he wanted to gift my first term life insurance policy as a support of me, you know, going into ministry. So it was a huge blessing for me.

[Aaron]

Yeah, I was in my early 20s when we found out we were having our first child. I was like I got to make sure that my, my kid and my, my future kid and my wife are covered in case something happens to me. Who's going to pay the mortgage, who's going to pay our student debt, that we had time, who's going to pay the car note? And I just knew that if it, that we weren't covered if something happened to me. So Fabric by Gerber Life what it is, it's a term life insurance that you can get done today. It's made for busy parents just like you all online, all on your schedule, right from your couch and you could be covered in under 10 minutes with no health exam required. And there really is no risk because there's a 30 day money back guarantee and you can cancel at any time. They have over 19005 star reviews on Trustpilot with a rating of excellent. Fabric also has free digital wills tools to invest in your kids future and more. All right from your phone. So join the thousands of parents who trust fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just [e-mail] unashamed that's meetfabric.com unashamed M E-EET fabric.com unashamed Policies issued by Western Southern Life Insurance Company not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions.

[Tim Tebow]

I also believe that there is a tearing in the relationship of him and God the Father when Jesus is on the cross. And I can't even imagine they have a perfect relationship before there was ever a thing called time. But Jesus knew that God had to turn his back on him so he would never have to turn his back on us, and he was willing to do it. And so when we understand the love of God and the love of Jesus and how that is all brought together in the Trinity, it's just the most mind boggling thing. Like he loves us enough. Like he loves me enough, enough as a sinner. Not when I like actually did a couple things that were okay. No, like God demonstrated his love for us that why we were yet sinners. While I'm an enemy and a traitor, he still chose me and he chose you. Like that's crazy. And then the third thing that I think is overwhelming about the gospel is what we have been saved for that, you know, Ephesians 2:10. For we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works which he has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Like, like, yes, we are saved from eternal separation, we are saved for heaven, we're saved in a relationship with Christ, all these amazing things. But we're also saved for good works that God has prepared for us while we were here. And God doesn't need us on his team, but he wants us and invites us to be on his rescue team to go bring the good news of the Gospel and set captives free and love and tell and preach and give and care and pray and all of these things. Like, like, it's just the most overwhelming thing. And I just never want the gospel to get old and I want to be callous to it because it is everything and it changes everything. And this message, I just hope gives people a fresh new perspective of the love of Christ and the sacrifice on Calvary's cross.

[Aaron]

Yeah, I definitely think that it does that. I mean, we talk on this podcast a lot about the last thing you said of, of the Gospel doesn't end with just what Christ saved us from. Also, it, it extends into what has he saved us to and what has he saved us for. I really love, by the way, if, if, if you get the book, it's, it's, it's animated so you've got a. A. I guess you connected with this.

[Jason]

What?

[Aaron]

Look up his name. Hold on.

[Tim Tebow]

Rael Ruiz. He's. Yeah.

[Aaron]

You connected with Ral Ruiz. How did you guys get connected? Because he did all the illustration for.

[Tim Tebow]

He did such a good job. And to give him so much credit, before he ever started writing anything and before he ever started any of his sketches, he studied the crucifixion and the Resurrection for two months to best try to understand it. And he's done work with the Bible Project and so many different people. And so it was just me, Wyatt and Rommel just really trying to work on this and trying to bring it to life. And I think probably one of my favorite drawings in there is when you see closer to the end of the book, when you see the face of Jesus and you see him beaten and torn, but you see how kind his eyes are. And I could just imagine if you got a up close look at Jesus, that would just be one of my guesses of maybe what he looked like that you just.

[Al]

But I loved, Tim, that it was the beauty of this personifying of the cross because the cross is all of us in the book. To me, like, you know, he was. He looked and he's. He heard Carpenter and he thought, you know, maybe I'll be shaped into this. Dreams and hopes that I want to be. And then of course, the world gets him and it's totally different. It winds up in the shame, as you mentioned. And then I love the picture that. And I never thought about this before, this was such an outlet for me as Jesus is walking ahead, you know, and the cross is being carried behind him. He's following Jesus up to Golgotha. And in that moment, he has a decision to make as. As the cross. And when he gets there, he's upset. He says, you know, I'm put here by this person. And so he joins in in his mind with all of those that are cursing Jesus and, you know, calling all these slurs on him until he sees that love you mentioned in his eyes and then feels his blood. And. And then of course, something changes inside the cross. And I know that spoke so much to me because just like you just shared. I mean, that's any of us, that's all of us. And the fact that the cross talked about sharing the spikes because not only did they go through Jesus, they went through him.

[Tim Tebow]

That's right.

[Al]

And that really does personify. So I just thought the metaphor of it was beautiful. And it spoke to me as. That's me just like it did to you. And that's what the cross does. It should personalize it for every single one of us.

[Tim Tebow]

I think so often we have these dreams, and we really trust our dreams more than we trust that God's plan for our life is better than our dream for our life. And that's a little bit of the cross here. He's like, man, I want to be made all of these things, and I have these hopes and dreams. But he didn't realize that in a different way he was going to be all those things, except so much better. Like, now. If you look around the world, no matter where you go, you will see crosses. And it is a symbol of hope. Is it a symbol of.

[Al]

Of honor?

[Tim Tebow]

Is it a symbol of reverence? Right. But in that time, it's none of those things. It is just a symbol of shame. But you look what our God can do. Our God can take what is meant for evil, and he can turn it into something for good. And. And I just think the cross is the perfect example. Like, we don't even know that in our society that the. You know, we see crosses and their tattoos and their necklaces and earrings and bracelets and all these things, and. But we don't even realize that this used to be just. It was no hope. It was an instrument of shame. Just for torture, for excruciating pain. Like, it's just, you know, they didn't even know. They didn't even have a word to describe the pain that Jesus went through. And so they came up with the word excruciating. And excruciating literally means out of the cross. Like, it's just. But yet what God can do with it. But so many times we, like, kind of hear that, but we're like, yeah, but my life's a little different. No, it's not. God can do the same with our lives. Like, he can take our disappointments, our heartache, our brokenness, our failed dreams, and do so much more than we could ask, think, or imagine with it. Why? Because he's God and we're not.

[Jason]

Well, I had a good illustration last night, so I had to go to a birthday party, one of my buddies, and we played cards. But I had to read this book because we were going to talk about it and I was nervous about it. So I start reading this. Well, I'm kind of in a worldly environment. Some of these guys are believers, some are not. And the guy next to me said, what are you reading? I said, tim Tebow's got a new book coming. Out, Out. And he said, what's it called? So I was like, if the tree could speak. He thought, well, what does that mean? So in that moment, I'm giving some fuel here. I realize this is a conversation starter. Here's this fella, and, you know, he's trying to wrap his head around it. And I was toward the end, and I said, like, I always get nervous. Cause he was like, you know Tim Tebow. I was like, yeah, he's gonna be on our podcast tomorrow. He's like, are you serious? I was like, yep. I was like, we're gonna talk about this book. He said, well, how is it? I said, oh, it's fantastic. I was like, cause my biggest thing to get nervous about is when a friend is gonna be on. And then I'm like, oh, he's written a book. What if I don't like it? And. Cause I didn't like the title because I didn't know what it was talking about. And I said, but this is fantastic. I said, you know what found fascinating. Of course I'm telling this guy, but I realized the card game has stopped. Because it's like, you know, people know who you are. And they're like, is he coming here? And I was like, look, don't be trying to follow me around. And probably going to be soon.

[Al]

We already got one fanboy. Let's don't get any more fanboy.

[Jason]

I said, what's fascinating is, like, if you read this book, it's only 68 pages, I think. And I said, there's very few words, and it's illustrated beautifully. I said, but what I found fascinating about it is there's nothing in here about Tim Tebow until you get to the footnotes after the book is over. And he's like, really? I was like, nothing. You would never know that he wrote this. I said, it's basically the story of God's love from the cross's perspective. Not the person, just the wood itself being a tree. I said, there's a few rhyming words and all. It's like, but it's so simple and it's so authentic. I said, it's absolutely fantastic.

[Al]

It's stunning.

[Jason]

It's clever. Yeah. And simple. And he's like, where do I go to get this? And so now everybody's jotting down what was the name of that book? And I thought, oh, this is working. This is working. And it hasn't even been released yet. And so that was my book review. I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I had to repent. For being nervous. And I wanted to say this because we talked about. We asked you about being a father. I did some point in there because I'm a father. And I realized God has brought him his wife and he's now had a kid. These are the type of perspectives I think you find from understanding relationships in your own life. And so I really think that contributed to that. I don't know. For some reason I felt like I had to say that because I thought, man, when you're a. When you're a father, all of a sudden you're like, gulp. How do I do this? And here you have the greatest father in the world. And to imagine him giving his son in this way. And I do think there was a power element here. The Romans were not only the reason they invented the cross or carried on its tradition because it's saying, look, you think you have a following? You think you're going to take on us? Let us be really clear how powerful we are and what we can do on the earth and how puny you are. Not only will we kill you, we will shame you. We will make you a public spectacle. And in God's wisdom and love, he somehow takes this most terrorizing act in that moment of history and shows his true power.

[Al]

But Jace, there was. Jace, there were three pages in the book that dealt. I felt like directly with that. And Tim, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but when you had the picture where it got dark and the cross is wondering, what's happening here? Where did this darkness come from? And then Jesus utters the words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? In that moment to realize the heaviness that was there. And the darkness is there that comes before, of course, the light that shines. Later, I felt like that spoke to that so powerfully in the idea. But even the Godhead itself, you know, and all of creation in that moment, realizes the bigness of that moment, you know. And so that was another powerful scene to me in the book.

[Tim Tebow]

Oh, thank you. One of my favorite lines, I just was opening the book to see it and I think it paints to that is, you see, for on my beams there was a price. Not only a man's death, but a king's sacrifice. He didn't just die on one broken tree. The king came to defeat death, to set you free. And how ironic that I the cross, once a symbol of pain, would now be a symbol of hope in Jesus name. As if he's coming to realize the transition of what he thought it was. And what he's realizing it is. And that transition that we go through so many times of like, well, this is what I want. And you don't even realize, you know, all the things that God is doing. And so I just, but, but Jason, I really hope that that was one of the hopes and prayers for it is that a family would be able to buy it for a friend, share it, like, give it, like, hey, they might not, you know, open up Luke and go read it, but maybe they would open this up and have a different perspective and maybe families would read it around Easter and maybe they would talk about it and, and you know, it's just a different way for maybe Christians to share with their friends of, hey, this is something different and it's rhyming and it's easy to read and it's short and it's, you know, I know you like it because it's a, you know, a color book. So.

[Jason]

Oh, I love this is. You got down to my level here, fifth grade level, because somebody said one time, the Bible's written on the fifth grade level. But what you captured, and Jay says, thank goodness what you captured, Tim. I mean, you probably are aware of this is there's a big question out there. Why did God choose to do it this way? And really that is the question that came to my mind because it was from the cross's perspective, but really it's from God's perspective of all the, you know, he didn't choose the social media. When you look at Jesus life, he had no money. He had to borrow a coin just, just to have an illustration. He had no house. He never went over 100 miles in any direction, had no plane. There was no social media. He was born on the wrong side of any kind of hierarchy, religious pedigree. And you're like, why doesn't God do something? People say that, look at the world. Well, he has done something. And you got into that question on why he did it this way. And I think it was from the Holy Spirit and I think it was at a time of your life, like I said, when, when relationships become very valuable and you feel responsible. We, we had my daughter in law on the podcast last year and I, I just couldn't figure out why she had this craving for the, the study of the Bible. I mean, she was like sending me texts, I'm listening to your podcast and asking me questions like, where's all this coming from? And she said, well, I have three small children, I want to get this right. And I thought man, isn't that what God's love does? Why he created us in our family units? And all the brokenness that goes in there. I mean, God wants us to be his family forever. And so well done, sir. I'm not easily impressed.

[Aaron]

No, it's very well done. And one of the big challenges is, is when you're trying to teach your kids the, you know, this cruciform life, which really you do a great job in the book with kind of the parallel of the, of the tree and what the tree goes through. Even there's like a, I think there's a line in there about the bark being stripped off of his back and.

[Tim Tebow]

Yeah.

[Aaron]

And so as the tree is like experiencing this, you're like, wait, Jesus is going through this, is going to go through this as well. And so it's like he, he wants the cross or the tree wants that glorious throne and then he doesn't get that. But then he, in the end he realizes, oh wait, this was the way of love the whole time. And so it's like the story of Jesus was then translate into us. And I think it's so difficult for us to see as, as humans that, that the way of Jesus is the cruciform life. And with, with my kids, Tim, I have five kids. I know you got one. So I'm five deep now.

[Jason]

And we had.

[Tim Tebow]

I like it. The number for grace. Baby. Let's go.

[Jason]

Come on, let's go.

[Aaron]

And, and we ad Ruth about four years ago and every night without fail, we have to, when we put her to bed, we say our prayer, we brush her teeth, say our prayers and then we have to read like two to three kids books. I mean, she will not go to sleep. It's like a, it is part of our liturgy and what I love about this book and I could just imagine parents all over the country, all over the world are going to be able to sit down with their three, four, five year old kids and read this story to them and that the imagery, a picture speaks a thousand words with our kids to sit in and incubate in these ideas at an early age of understanding one who Jesus is, what he did for us. And then now this is the way to the good life to model what Jesus modeled on the cross. This is how we love one another. I'm excited to read this to her, so I'm really excited for this to come out. And this will be part of our family nightly routine.

[Tim Tebow]

That's so sweet. Thank you. I just want to say I'm really proud of you for a few things. One, your whole nightly routine. But I'm also so grateful for you that you don't have the same routine as Jace putting your kids to sleep that you actually do brush their teeth. That's great.

[Jason]

He knows what a toothbrush is.

[Aaron]

I'm sure Missy did brush your kid's teeth, Right?

[Al]

So we're almost out of time. I want to say one thing. You mention I love Missy.

[Tim Tebow]

Of course she does. Jace definitely did, though.

[Jason]

That's why God gave us woman. The completion, I guess. Who become the all star during the ice storm. Oh, Jace with the chainsaw. And then Missy's cleaning up, you know, saying don't.

[Al]

So look, I got one last thing to say, Tim. We. We're almost out of time, but we. You mentioned something earlier and it was just. You did it quickly. But. But for me being a pastor for so many years and preaching so many sermons, you know, and Joby's been on our podcast before. We love him, by the way. And he just. Such a. Such a gift from God. But he. He was speaking as the Holy Spirit led him. But what he said, he probably had no idea it would affect you the way it did because it wasn't really him, it was the Holy Spirit.

[Tim Tebow]

Yeah.

[Al]

And the fact that you were had ears willing to hear, not just him, but of course the Holy Spirit who speaks to us some ways, especially through pastors, that we never even know how the message gets to where it needs to get. So I'm grateful for men like him, but I'm also grateful for men like you who have an openness to the Holy Spirit. And he's taken a great thought that was implanted into your heart and turned that seed into something I think is going to help a lot of people. So we highly recommend the book.

[Jason]

This is. Here's the deal. I have a philosophy and I focus on Jesus because I realize if people fall in love with Jesus, you're not going to have to go look around and try to find. They will beat your door down trying to learn more. And I highly recommend this book because I think it embodies that. And you took my first thought about that story in Luke. Because when I heard that, see in my simple mind, I thought, huh, that was the first rock concert. The rocks will cry out. It's a rock concert. Up for it?

[Tim Tebow]

Yeah.

[Aaron]

Well, we will put the. We'll find the link. I'll get with your team and we'll make sure we put a link for you guys that. Listen, if you want to check the book out.

[Al]

But look at I give you another plug too. The book you wrote last year, Look Again, is very, very good and I couldn't help but think when I read it now and now reading this, that this sort of perspective that God's given you as, as as your seasons go along continue to open you up to Him. So thank you Tim for everything you do for the kingdom and you're one of our pals and buddies and even though you're a tiger slayer from Days lore, we love you as our brother.

[Tim Tebow]

Wow. So grateful for y'.

[Jason]

All.

[Tim Tebow]

Thank you guys. Thanks for your love for Jesus and just being unashamed and grateful for the time and the friendship and just honored to be able to to come share and thanks you for being so authentic in the way that you share the love of Christ with people.

[Al]

Thank you brother. Keep praying reaching thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcast and don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube and be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.