Going back more than a decade, Tim Tebow has won a Heisman Trophy (2007), been a starting quarterback in the NFL Playoffs (2011 season) and played minor-league baseball in the New York Mets organization (2016-2019). Around his time on the field, the outspoken Christian athlete has found time to author multiple books which have landed on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Shortly after the calendar flipped to 2021, Tebow released his latest book. This time around, however, he’s looking to spread his Biblically-motivated message to a whole new audience, young children.
Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember hit bookstore shelves on Jan. 5 and is geared toward the age 3-to-7 demographic. Tebow drew inspiration for his main character – a bespectacled brown canine named Bronco – from his own pet pooch. The story is co-authored by regular Tebow collaborator A.J. Gregory and the skillfully colorful illustrations were contributed by Jane Chapman.
The story begins by letting the reader know that Bronco struggles with his eyesight. Due to that, he questions his self-worth and whether he fits in well enough with his fellow animals to attend a big party they’ve planned. Many children should quickly relate to Bronco, as he really desires to do something but is tempted to allow a minor imperfection to stop him.
The story unfolds with Bronco discovering truths about himself and others that every child comes face-to-face with throughout their social, mental, and, hopefully, spiritual development.
The importance of friendship shines through brightly, as Bronco’s decision to go to the party comes at the urging of a companion to search for his previously disposed of invitation. The invitation itself is a cleverly-shaped plot device.
Bronco also begins to see that, despite his deficiency in one area, he is equipped with other strengths that make him incredibly valuable in overcoming the challenges that pop up for his group of friends along their path to the party. Not only that, but he comes to find that everyone in his peer group has something about them with which they struggle as well.
The tune that all are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) for a specific purpose plays out melodically though this tale. Bronco’s journey to the party brings him to realize that purpose, and by the end, he sees how each individual piece of his social group fits together like a pre-planned puzzle.
Tebow caps his story with an apt scriptural reference from Ephesians 2:10 (NIV).
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.“
God’s Word is clear there. When the purposes of Christ become our own, then we can complete the tasks he laid out for us before we even knew Him.
Tebow says that he desires for children to know that “we (all people) are created unique. That we are special. And that makes you wonderful.” In Bronco and Friends, he has done a commendable job making that message easy to grasp for younger readers and listeners.
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-By Nate Miller