Imagine for a minute being in a room and someone asking you Which of these words represent  your core values? They then gave you a list from which to choose. There were a number of items on the list ranging from power to prestige to money and success, but one stood out to you. It was the word religion.

To be honest the word religion isn’t the best choice. It carries a ton of baggage that society seems to just miss completely. But since it’s the only word on the list that has anything to do with matters of faith, you decide to choose this as one of your core values.

How will the room react?
What will people say?
How will they look at you now that you’ve made it obvious that this is your core value?
Do you have the guts to stand up and claim this as your value in life?

This seems like a topic made for one of those God’s Not Dead style movies, but in actuality it’s a real life situation. It happens more often than we probably care to admit. Whether it’s in a classroom or on the street, in the workplace or at the gym people are looking. They are watching to see the faith that is in you.

Now imagine that you actually choose the word religion as one of your core values in a college classroom setting. What kinds of things do you think you’d hear? People may ask why’s that so important? Why do you believe in that whole faith thing anyway? What exactly do you believe? These and many other questions will quickly start bombarding you. How will you answer them?

The bible teaches that we should be ready always to give the reason for the hope that we have. It’s easy to say that we believe in Jesus or that faith is important but why? Why is it important to you? This week’s Music Monday song is another older one. It’s a powerful message of standing out in a crowd. The gist is simple. Are you willing to be a Jesus Freak? Are you willing to stand out in a crowd as the one who isn’t afraid of living what you believe?

I have to be honest, I’m a Jesus Freak! Are you?