In Acts 26:12-15, Paul is giving a speech and describes journeying to Damascus with the intention of persecuting Christians, as he did regularly as a Jewish religious leader.

Suddenly, however, a blinding light causes him to fall to the ground. And a voice asks him, “Why are you persecuting me?” Naturally, Paul inquires, “Who are you?” And the voice says, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”

Not surprisingly, this encounter with Jesus profoundly changes Paul’s life. Instead of being Christianity’s greatest opponent, he becomes its most significant advocate.

It’s important for us to observe two things from this account in Acts 26. First, every aspect of the Christian life grows out of having an encounter with Jesus—not necessarily in a physical way that includes being blinded with light, but an encounter that changes us just the same.

Christianity isn’t just about believing the right things with our minds or following the right morals in our lives. It’s about encountering Jesus in a way that changes us to the very core of our being.

And, secondly, once we’ve had this encounter, it should be a normal and natural thing for us to talk about it. In Acts 26, Paul even shares about this encounter in a speech to a Roman king!

You may never earn a seminary degree in theology, and you may be scared to death of public speaking. That’s okay. You can still share the gospel with others simply by sharing your personal story in a way that keeps Jesus at the center.

It’s not like you have to come up with an eloquent theological treatise that somebody would deliver at Harvard. Just be real, be authentic, and share your story.

When you think about it, there’s really no reason why it shouldn’t be a normal and natural thing for you to share that story. Think about how natural is for us to share stories about other things in our lives—the latest shenanigans our kids have been into, how we had an unexpected adventure on vacation, or things we experienced growing up.

It’s so natural for us to share our stories, and there’s no reason why it can’t be the same way with this. Sharing the gospel can be as simple as doing what Paul did—telling our story with Jesus at the center.