When I was in college and turned my life back over to the Lord, one of the first things I felt was… behind. I had this overwhelming feeling that I had to learn everything about the Bible in order to share the Gospel with others. I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day to master theology and I was so afraid someone was going to ask me about Jesus before I had memorized the Romans Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, or every point of Creation. I wish I could go back and have a conversation with my new-creation self and ask her to tap the brakes.

Don’t get me wrong, I now love to geek out on theology and it’s by far one of my favorite ways to spend time. Studying Jesus is a fruitful endeavor. However, I’ve learned there’s an even better way to spend my time, and that’s actually spending time WITH HIM. Sure, it’s important to know facts about Jesus (because He is TRUTH), but I don’t believe you can study Him and not understand that He wants to be fully known, not just known about. After all, the Pharisees knew all the religious facts and missed Jesus completely. He wants to be invited off the page and into your life – every part of your life.

As I’ve matured in my faith, sharing about Jesus has become less about regurgitating research or remembering jingle-like acrostics. It’s drinking Him in every day that allows Him overflow into all aspects of my life. Spending time in prayer, reading the Bible daily, reading books by faithful authors, and listening to faithful podcasters fills me to the point of overflow. He pours Himself into me, and He’s what comes out.  

A friend recently asked me how I find myself in so many conversations about Jesus. The person at the make-up counter. The fellow shopper in line at the grocery store. The waitstaff. The Uber driver. The mom on my kid’s team. The service tech at my house. I can honestly say I don’t set out to have conversations about Jesus (although I welcome them!) but spending time with Him suddenly makes Him relevant to just about any subject or situation. I believe it’s true for all of us — we spill onto other people whatever we’ve been filling ourselves with (Jesus or otherwise). And living daily life with Jesus means we’ll have recent stories about what He’s just taught us or what He’s doing in our own lives.

It’s not necessarily learning how to evangelize as much as it is about going in deep with Jesus and letting Him mark every facet of your life so that your faith is fresh, vibrant, and to be frank, exciting. When we are excited about Jesus, we can’t stop talking about Him. And living life with Jesus is exciting.   

One of my favorite authors and podcasters is John Eldredge. He and his wife, Stasi, were recently reminiscing on his podcast about the early years of their ministry and what it has now become. One of the points Eldredge made abundantly clear is that his own relationship with Jesus is at the epicenter of his ministry. Eldredge said about his ministry, “You can’t run on fumes; you cannot give away or speak with authority on what you do not have.” He said it this way in another episode of his podcast, “You can’t fake it; you can’t share what you’re not living.” He’s ministering to people around the world not from his own power or knowledge, but from the overflow of a life lived with Jesus.

I suppose you can fake it and you can share what you’re not living, but it will not go well. We see it every day in Christian leaders who make headlines for living very differently than the Bible they claim informs their lives. But being a fake and a hypocrite and “preaching” out of your own strength is not what we are called to. Jesus makes it clear that we will become what we fill our hearts with: “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:34-35).

Sharing your faith shouldn’t necessarily be something you strategize, plan, or script. Although none of those are bad things. Sharing your faith shouldn’t be anxiety-producing or a pressure-filled event. It should be a natural extension of who and what you are – a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. When we are full of Him, we don’t have to worry about the chains of performance, pride, or ego. It’s all for Him and from Him.

We can’t fill ourselves by working harder, striving more, or doing better. It’s Jesus’ joy to pour Himself into His followers to equip them for every good work (and good conversation) He has for them (2 Timothy 3:17). Follow and fall in love with Jesus first (and again and again). Let your conversations about Him come from a life lived with Him. Make Him a part of your every day. We need God’s love, His peace, and His redemptive spirit to overflow in our culture now more than ever.

And only what is filled can overflow.

“May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Dear Lord, Thank You for loving Your children and not wanting to settle for any separation between us and You. Thank You for trusting us with the mission of sharing You with others. May we first seek You and experience Your beautiful glory so You may overflow through us to a watching world. Maranatha! Amen.