In college it may be difficult to be the only one in the room who believes in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior, let alone worships God every Sunday. It’s difficult because the Christian opinion, although often respected if shared, seems so small in light of the majority’s confident assertions. The result for most students raised in Christian homes is feeling like they have let someone down and were not “enough of a Daniel.” After this result, a Christian student may respond in one of the following ways:

• Becoming too "fired up" and treating all differing opinions as direct attacks.
• Shutting down into isolation and loneliness.
• Spending time only with Christians and devolving into exclusivity.

It’s my opinion that none of these routes and their variations, including the initial result, is helpful or righteous. A balance of these responses is even outside of what God desires for his image-bearers, especially those who are redeemed by Christ. God doesn’t just want his people to “survive” in this broken world but to “thrive” [1] for the sake of his glory and kingdom.

What might that look like? Check back later this week for "Alone in the Room" parts 2 and 3.

[1] Scotty Smith, Tabletalk, November 2010, pg. 24.