The sheep isn’t blamed. It doesn’t repent. It doesn’t find its way home. It simply gets lost. And the shepherd goes after it, searching until he finds it, lifting it onto his shoulders, carrying it home, and calling his friends to celebrate.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is not merely a call to help the hurting. It is a call to become the kind of person who naturally moves toward the broken because the love of God has taken root in us. When tragedy strikes, whether in our own lives or in the lives of those around us, the question is not, “What is the right thing to say?” or “How do I avoid making a mistake?” The question is, “How can I be a neighbor right now?”