When I became a Christian at university, one of the things we did in CU to help equip us to share our faith with our friends was to prepare a short testimony. This would explain what life was like before we became a Christian, how we encountered Jesus and decided to start following him, and what difference a relationship with God makes to our daily lives. The point wasn’t to try and insert this speech into a conversation at the pub at the earliest opportunity, but it was to help us think through how to explain our story when we got the chance.

All Christians have a story to tell about how their faith, sexuality and identity interact.

I was chatting to a student after doing a talk at a college recently and we were talking about the need to be prepared for conversations about faith and sexuality. As someone who is same-sex attracted and works for Living Out, I’ve done a fair bit of thinking about this and feel like I have a bit of a head-start when everyday conversations turn to sexuality. But it occurred to me that all Christians have a story to tell about how their faith, sexuality and identity interact, whether we’re gay or straight, married or single.

We know that conversations about sexuality will come, whether it’s in our families, workplaces, or social spaces, so here are some questions that can help you think about your own ‘sexuality story’:

• How have I come to see Jesus as the perfect lover who meets my deepest desires for intimacy?
• What does it mean for me to find my identity in Christ?
• How is my singleness/marriage a gift from God and how does it point to the good news of the gospel?
• How does Jesus help me overcome past sexual regrets and shame?
• How does God help me when I experience sexual temptation?
• Why do I think it is worth submitting my sexuality to God?
• How are my relational needs met in Christian community?
• How does knowing Jesus help me with loneliness? How does he help me know I am loved?
• How does my story fit into the bigger story of God’s work throughout history calling people to himself and giving them the hope of new creation?
• How is the Christian story the ultimate love story?

Having good answers to the questions above may help all of us point to the goodness of God’s pattern for sex, relationships, intimacy, and identity next time we find ourselves in a conversation about sexuality.