Christian athlete Tim Tebow expressed his tendency to prioritize sports over his walk with Christ. He challenged thousands of young people gathered at Passion 2023 to live lives defined by a passion for sharing the Gospel with the lost.

“I would humbly, this morning, challenge me, first and foremost, and maybe all of us, to say, what will be the greatest passion of our life? What will be the greatest passion of our life? Will our greatest passion at the end of our life will it be for the cause of Christ?” the 35-year-old said from the Passion Conference stage in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday morning.

Tebow said there are two primary reasons many don’t truly pursue their passion for the cause of Christ: a passion for the world and apathy. The college football star who won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 before playing in the NFL and later playing minor league baseball shared that he has had more passion for sports than faith in the past.

“I think, in my life, my greatest passion so far in my life hasn’t been for Jesus. I’d say it’s honestly probably been for sports,” he admitted. He defined “passion” as “caring so much for something you’re willing to suffer for it.” “So far in my life, I’ve been more willing to suffer for a game than I ever have for Jesus. Why do I say that? Because I’ve given up more in my life to win the game than I ever have for Jesus,” he added.

“It doesn’t mean that I’m not passionate about Jesus. I am passionate about Jesus. I love Jesus. I’ve just been more passionate about a game. I spent more time watching film, studying, preparing for defense than I ever have studying Scripture.”

“It doesn’t mean those things are wrong,” he continued. “Being passionate about sports isn’t wrong … being passionate about your job, your occupation, I would say it’s a good thing. But is it more than Jesus? Is it more than the call in your life? Is it more than hurting people? Or is it in its proper place?”

Tebow said that at other times, Christians are simply apathetic to living a vibrant life for Christ, adopting the attitude of “I don’t care.” “Sometimes [the Christan life] can hurt, it can suck, it’s not easy. And so I’m just going to choose apathy,” he said.

He cited Hebrews 12:1, which reads: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

“Are we willing to passionately run, to truly be passionate about the race that is set before us?” he asked. “We get to be part of the greatest rescue mission in the history of the world because of what Jesus did on the cross, and He has commanded us to take it to the world. But do we have any urgency? Why do we need to run? Because we’re not living on our timeline. We’re living on theirs. How many people did I not get to because I’m apathetic [or] I don’t really care, or I was just more passionate about doing something else?”

Tebow challenged listeners to carry the fire God ignited inside them into the world: “I’m going to challenge us to remember, what does it mean to remember, to look back at the cross and meditate on it?”