When I lived overseas a few years ago, I learned a simple acrostic that helped me communicate my faith with anyone I met. I would begin a conversation with these easy-to-remember topics in mind:

F —Family
     "Tell me about your family."
O—Occupation
     "What do you do for a living?"
R —Religion
     "What are your spiritual roots?"
M —Message
     Share my own spiritual journey.

Whether or not you ever set foot in a foreign land, try this simple model at the gym, by the pool or with your neighbors. Or why not invite an international student over for a holiday meal and show your children how easy it is to share your faith.

Judge Sullivan determined that Michael had been tossed from foster home to foster home long enough. He pounded the gavel and made the adoption official—I acquired another brother. That February in 1989, the 6-year-old blond with a bowl cut became David Abegg. My parents changed his first name because my biological brother, who is eight months older than David, already bore the original name. More over, Social Services recommended we give him a new identity now that he was ours.

He also took on my father's last name. So when the now high-school senior gets commended for good behavior, or if he gets into trouble, it reflects on my mom and dad.

Just as my parents took David to be a part of our family, so God adopts us as sons and daughters when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Like David, we receive a new identity. In Isaiah 62:2, God says we "will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow" (New International Version). A name represents more than a word people use to call us—it reflects a change in status. Just as David's new last name represents the family he now belongs to, so our name, "Christian," shows we are children of grace. As God's adopted children, we become His ambassadors. When we obey or disobey God, it reflects on Him.

David inherited a new legacy, just like we do from our Heavenly Father.

We are citizens of heaven, adopted by the King of the Universe.

On a cold Christmas Eve in 1952, when Korea was in the throes of civil war, one young woman struggled along a village street, obviously soon to deliver a child. She pleaded with passersby, "Help me! Please. My baby."

No one paid any attention to her.

A middle-aged couple walked by. The wife pushed away the young mother and sneered, "Where's the father? Where's your American man now?" The couple laughed and went on.

The young woman almost doubled up from a contraction as she watched them go. "Please . . ." she begged.

She had heard of a missionary living nearby who might help her. Hurriedly, she began walking to that village. If only he would help her baby. Shivering and in pain, she struggled over the frozen countryside. But the night was so cold. Snow began to fall. Realizing that the time was near to deliver her baby, she took shelter under a bridge. There, alone, her baby was born on Christmas Eve.

Worried about her newborn son, she took off her own clothes, wrapped them around the baby and held him close in the warm circle of her arms.

The next day, the missionary braved the new snow to deliver Christmas packages. As he walked along, he heard the cry of a baby. He followed the sound to a bridge. Under it, he found a young mother frozen to death, still clutching her crying new born son. The missionary tenderly lifted the baby out of her arms.

When the baby was 10 years old, his now adoptive father told him the story of his mother's death on Christmas Eve.
The young boy cried, realizing the sacrifice his mother had made for him.

The next morning, the missionary rose early to find the boy's bed empty. Seeing a fresh set of small footprints in the snow outside, he bundled up warmly in a winter coat and followed the trail. It led back to the bridge where the young mother had died.

As the missionary approached the bridge, he stopped, stunned. Kneeling in the snow was his son, naked and shivering uncontrollably. His clothes lay beside him in a small pile. Moving closer, he heard the boy say through chattering teeth: "Mother, were you this cold for me?"

That story reminds me of another mother and Son who sacrificed so much. One winter night, Jesus left his home, His glory and the warmth of heaven to be born in a stable to an unwelcome world. Just before He was born, Mary, His mother, was not welcome in any of the cozy inns in Bethlehem. Instead, she delivered her baby in the darkness of a cold stable. Th e Creator of the Universe, the Perfect Judge who could destroy the world with a single word, was willing to endure this inauspicious beginning for you and me. That is unconditional love!

We who have experienced God's unconditional love are commanded to share that love with others. John writes in 1 John 4:11, "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other" (New Living Translation). God wants us to express His supernatural love to others. We become examples of God's love to the world as we love our neighbors through the enabling of His Holy Spirit.

My prayer for you is the same as Paul's prayer for the believers in Ephesians 3:17,18: "May your roots go down deep in to the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is" (NLT ) .

You may confess, "I don't have that kind of love to share with anyone." To experience God's supernatural love, claim it by faith. We have the potential to love anyone God puts in our path. One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my Christian life is "how to love by faith."

When we by faith invite God's unconditional love to flow through us, we will discover a rekindled love that is alive and well. That is true for an "unlovable" spouse, boss, employee, or anyone.

Nothing breaks the hardened ground of unforgiveness and bitterness like sincere acts and words of love. Sometimes you and I, by faith, must take the first step of restoration. A positive response may not be immediate, but keep on loving and reaching out. There is no power on earth stronger than God's supernatural love.

The black letters stared up at me from the typed page like accusing eyes of an interrogator. "How would your spouse evaluate your pursuit of romance? How can you improve?"

I shifted in my chair, uneasy. Tonight my Bible-study group planned to discuss marriage. Our leader, Mike, had passed out the questions nearly a month ago, suggesting we answer them with our spouses beforehand. I had not wanted to do it then, and definitely didn't want to discuss them tonight .

The questions—covering everything from finance to romance—weren't condemning in and of themselves. The trouble lay in my answers, or rather, in the shortcomings revealed by my answers.

Genuine love, mutual trust, faithful commitment—these buoys marked safe boundaries around our marriage. But by believing that nothing needed improvement, and not answering these questions, I was ignoring the sharks circling beyond the ropes in order to keep my pride dry.

God rarely cares about safeguarding our pride, and He's been known to let His children get wet, like when Jesus called Peter out to walk the waves.

"I know these areas need improvement," I whined to the group that night. "I just don't like to face it."

"It is not about becoming a perfect husband or following a list of do's and don'ts," explained Pastor Wayne. "These questions are not here to improve your marriage for improvement's sake. They are a means to help you glorify God."

These simple words started a radical shift in my perspective. Instead of looking at a weekly "date night" as another mark to measure up to, I could choose to see it as one tangible way to possibly glorify Christ. I could honor God, rather than a standard by which good husbands are judged.

This revolutionary outlook carries into all of life. Instead of feeling guilty that I don't do enough evangelism, or that I should exercise more, I can allow 1 Corinthians 10:31 to reroute my focus: "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God."