Every so often a story in the news stands out and grabs my attention: a heinous crime, political squabbling, a touching human interest piece. An article I read on February 17^th, 2011, was one such story that accomplished this feat. It was on that day that I read about and was impressed with a young man wrestling in the Iowa State tournament. The impressive aspect of Joel Northrup's story was not that he won the state title, but that for reasons of personal, religious conviction, he chose to default his match. After an incredible season in which he went 35-4, Northrup had a very real chance of winning an Iowa wrestling championship this year, yet he relinquished his dream before his first state tournament match. Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore who competes for Linn-Mar High School, said his religious convictions wouldn't allow him to wrestle Cassy Herkelman, a freshman from Cedar Falls who is one of the first two girls to qualify for the tournament in its 85-year history.

What was Northrup's explanation for his actions? "Wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times," Northrup said in a statement released by his high school. "As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." (AP, ESPN High School, 2-17-11) I applaud this young man's willingness to stand by his personal religious convictions even though it would prove very costly to himself.

Last spring and summer the youth of GNBC read the Brett and Alex Harris book Do Hard Things. Through this book the teens were challenged, for the cause of Christ, to be willing to step outside of their personal comfort zones in order to be a bold witness for Jesus Christ. In other words, each reader was challenged to "live what you believe". Joel Northrup made a huge decision to live what he believed and I applaud him for it. My prayer is that Northrup's story will encourage other Christians, both young and old, to make decisions, even if they prove costly, as a result of one's personal convictions. Although not nearly as public as Northrup's stance, I have been impressed to hear of similar stories from this past year, where Christian young people are doing just that, living what they believe, in the face of an increasingly secular and convictionless society. I know of local high school students unwilling to sacrifice their convictions regarding working on the Lord's Day, who respectfully appealed to their authorities and offered creative alternatives. Another example was one who respectfully appealed to a teacher when the content taught in a class seemed to unfairly target this student's faith. Another example I recently learned of was a university student who appealed to a professor and offered a creative alternative when the class was required to watch an "R" rated movie. This young person's religious convictions were being challenged and instead of simply "rolling over" and participating, was willing live what he believed.

Part of the way you and I are to make a difference in this world is to live principled lives that are consistent with our convictions. Jesus said in Mt. 5:13 ""You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Sometimes Christians will have convictions that will stand opposed to the prevailing cultural climate. When this happens to you, take encouragement from last week's decision by a high school sophomore, and "Live what you believe!"