A simple secret that makes sharing Jesus easy- Bella’s story

Bella is a graphic designer and has spent most of her working life in ministry and church. Stepping out into a secular work environment was a challenge, especially when it came to bringing up her faith. But Bella discovered a simple secret that made all the difference…

In my life, I’ve only ever worked in Christian ministries and churches. But recently I started a new job in a totally secular environment. I’ve wanted to be serious about living life on-mission but I felt nervous about talking to people about Jesus in a natural way. The Holy Spirit challenged me to just be honest when the moment arises and I wanted to be obedient to that.

Well, the other day I was having lunch with a new friend from work and we were talking about life outside of work. I showed her some photos of my friends and my housemates, and she asked me where I met them. It was such a simple moment, but I said, “Oh, I met them all through church.” I explained how we grew close by serving on teams together for a long time at church. I mean, it’s not like I shared my testimony or led her through a prayer of salvation or anything like that, it was just a simple moment of obedient honesty.

I felt pretty nervous as we were having the conversation. I didn’t know how she was going to react. I didn’t know what her past experience of church was like. I was feeling on edge.

But as the conversation went on I kept reminding myself that I wasn’t trying to convince her of anything, I was just making a plain statement about my life. I was just sharing who I am and how I live, and that thought was really calming for me.

I realized that just being casual, honest and authentic took the pressure off. I could be obedient to the Holy Spirit and the outcome meant we grew closer as friends because we know more about each other.

The Bible says that ‘all things work together for good for those who love God’ (Romans 8:28). So sharing my faith doesn’t need to be complicated, I can just be honest about my life and trust God to work out the good.

This whole experience reminded me that I don’t need to change the whole world, I just have to do my bit and be true to myself, display the heart of Jesus and be honest when Jesus comes up in conversation.

I realized that if I’m being honest and real, Jesus is going to come up in conversation because he’s such a big part of my life. So when someone says “Why do you do this? Or say that?” I can honestly answer with “Oh, it’s because I love God and I love people.”

And there it is, simple honesty. Be honest when someone comes up to you with questions. Be honest when you’re in a conversation – if God’s a part of your life He’ll come up.

Just be honest, it doesn't have to be more complicated than that.