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Most people don't pick up a book by Ravi Zacharias for leisure reading. He uses words like "heteronomous" and "poststructuralism." He bolsters his arguments by quoting Indian religious scholars, German theologians, and a variety of philosophers past and present. He studied at Cambridge, he has spoken in more than 50 countries, and he has lectured at many of the world's greatest universities.

	Click to read an excerpt from Zacharias' book Cries of the Heart

Ravi moves comfortably in the realms of logic, philosophy, religion, history, and literature. He draws from other disciplines to prove the reality, and the truth, of the Christian faith.

"For some people," he says, "the door to the heart is through the window of the mind."

Considering his work and his academic pedigree, you might picture him as an overbearing intellectual in whose presence an ordinary human is reduced to the level of a blubbering idiot. But that's not the case.

When you meet Ravi and his wife, Margie, they'll offer a warm welcome and a cup of tea. Their open and gentle spirit puts you at ease.

The Zachariases believe a Christian has the power to bring about positive change in the world. They are convinced that God intended a Christian's home or apartment to be a base for hospitality and ministering to others. And they don't let those of us who feel called to teaching, computer programming, construction, or parenthood off the hook. They'll tell you we're all called, primarily, to show God's love to those around us.

Meant to be together
Margie was 16 when she met Ravi at church soon after he immigrated from India to Canada. He was being trained to become the banquet manager at a large Toronto hotel, and he assumed he would make his mark in the business world.

	For Margie, home represents a place of peace for everyone who walks through the door.

But when Margie got to know Ravi, she felt God had bigger plans for him. "At the time," she says, "he didn't recognize God's call on him. But everybody who met him did."

Public speaking doesn't come naturally to Ravi, but in 1971 he accepted an invitation to spend three months preaching in war-torn Vietnam. His messages were heard by U. S. and South Vietnamese soldiers, North Vietnamese prisoners of war, and Vietnamese civilians. As a result of those meetings, thousands became Christians.

That experience convinced Ravi that God wanted to use him in an evangelistic ministry. Thirteen years later, after he had served as a full-time, salaried evangelist in both Canada and the United States, he formed Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, which focuses on evangelism undergirded by apologetics.

Ravi wrote several books, including Cries of the Heart, Can Man Live without God? and Deliver Us from Evil (all published by Word). He defends the reasonableness of the Christian faith, but also stresses the peace and healing that come only from God. Ravi and Margie have incorporated that same mission into their life as a married couple.

Cloaked in peace
"A home should convey peace to people when they come in," Ravi explains. "Where people sense that harmony, they will seek your feedback, even in subtle ways. People have come to the Lord in our home. One was a Hindu couple. I would love to think that happened because they sensed God in our home and in our marriage."

For Margie, home represents a place of peace for everyone who walks through the door, not just for the people who live there. "Tradespeople, real estate agents—anyone who has a reason to be there should be able to sense the difference in a Christian home." Interestingly enough, once when the Zachariases were selling a home, the buyer commented on "how they sensed peace in the house."

	"By honoring and respecting each othter, Christians show God's power at work in a relationship."

Over years of ministry Ravi has identified the needs of people that all Christians should address in and out of their homes. "There is great hunger and anxiety in the world, and we don't realize the hostility that is out there.

"For example, Margie once went to a picture-framing store to order pictures for some friends. She said to the woman working there, 'I'd like some pictures with children in them.'

"'Do the people you're buying this for have children?' the clerk asked.

"'No,' Margie replied, 'but it's not by choice.'"

"The woman paused, then asked: 'Have you ever lost a child?' Margie, who had experienced a miscarriage herself, was startled by the question.

"'Do you know the anger that comes when you lose a child?' the woman continued, her emotions building. Margie heard the whole story—that she had lost two children and that her sister was also losing a child. 'God is cruel!' the woman said, so angry that she was flushed with raw emotion.

"Margie started to cry. About to say she was sorry, Margie was cut off. 'Don't say a thing!' the woman replied.

As she left, Margie told the woman she'd pray for her.

"'Don't worry about me,' the clerk said. 'I'm okay. But please pray for my sister.'"

Over a period of months Margie and Ravi befriended the grieving mother. She came to their home, and they prayed for her. Before she left, she remarked on the peace she sensed just from being in a home where the gospel is at the heart of each member of the family.

As Ravi explains, "When one's own home is torn, the Christian home must offer hope."

A simple act
Peace starts with respecting fellow human beings, Ravi says. The more you're kind to whomever you talk to, and gentle and gracious in what you're saying, the more respect you show.

"I'm not kind to Margie because she's my wife," Ravi says. "I'm kind to her, first of all, because she's a person."

Added to that is the love of Christ which, when applied to any act of kindness, makes it go much farther.

"The love of Christ constrains me, says the apostle Paul, and when the love of Christ is in your heart," notes Ravi, "you're accountable to him for your actions toward others."

Even something as simple as helping clean the table after dinner. On one occasion when the Zachariases had guests, Ravi immediately pitched in to help Margie. After a few moments, he realized he was being watched by the guests.

"Ravi's putting on a show because he has company," the husband said sarcastically, reacting to his wife's prodding to "go and do likewise." After a laugh together, Ravi mentioned that respect for your spouse means sharing the workload in marriage, not thrusting it upon just one person.

"Marriage, the way God designed it," Margie says, "is meant to point people to God. The family is God's laboratory where his grace and provision are put to the test." That's why both Margie and Ravi are concerned when many Christian marriages fall so short of what God intended. For them, there's a direct correlation: if you can't show the love of Christ in your family first, you diminish your impact on the world for God.

It started in Eden
Adam and Eve had no earthly parents. Their allegiance was first to God and then to each other, Ravi points out. Marriage is the first human relationship God instituted. That is why the wedding vows are so sacred—they are rooted in God's first gift to humanity, a pure love, an exclusive love, an abiding love.

That's also why it's critical to reflect the reality of God's love in a Christian home, especially in this society of broken homes.

"What people should see is that it takes more than human love to repair their own lives," Ravi says. "By honoring and respecting each other, Christians have the privilege of showing God's power at work in a relationship. People are hurting, and Christians can help to heal that hurt, if they're aware of the opportunities."

Those opportunities for hospitality apply to the whole family. From an early age, Ravi and Margie have encouraged their three children (now in college and high school) to invite their friends to the house. It's a first step to making contact—and possibly exposing—the friends and their parents to a Christian way of life. Though this family-oriented evangelism can be a long process, the Zach-ariases find it exciting and biblical.

"The disciples asked Jesus, 'Where do you live?'" Ravi says. "That tells me the Bible is an Eastern book. People from Eastern cultures know they're accepted when you invite them into your home.

"No matter what part of the world you're from, people are lonely and longing for friendship. They want to be able to come to a place where they can talk freely without fear of a putdown."

With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Zachariases are offering such a haven—in hopes of introducing others to the greatest Friend of all.

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