“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”― Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is a sad reality that Dr. King’s dream to see a time when race is not a dividing factor in America has not come to fruition. It falls in the lap of the Church to be that voice of truth in the world. We have the gospel message of the new life in Christ. It is only through the regenerate man. That we see people of different races, creeds, and color as a neighbor. As long as there are individuals who are persecuted and disenfranchised the Church of Jesus Christ has work to do to see the dream of equality in Christ become a reality. We are called by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be a neighbor to the ones who need mercy. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. And who is our neighbor? Anyone, we come into contact with, not just the people who look like us and think like us but everyone God places in our lives is our neighbor.

Like the Good Samaritan our mission in the world is to “Go and show mercy.” In doing so, you model for those who are far from God the love of the Savior and the mercy and grace of God. So go and do likewise.