If you have not seen this video yet or read the talk that it is based on, please drop what you are doing and find time for it. This brief video speaks of the plight of refugees and calls those who listen to action.

I love how the Church has taken a strong stance on the importance of helping refugees. It is a profound message of charity and love. As a descendant of those who were refugees escaping Nazi persecution, I feel that we need to take this message to heart. How we respond to those in need truly does define who we are as a society, as a church, and as individuals.

My grandparents fled Poland to Russia seeking refugee from the Nazi storm. Instead, they were treated with suspicion and animosity and placed in work camps in distant parts of Siberia. Many refugees perished as a result of the harsh conditions and inhospitably of the political and social climate.

The Christ-like way to respond is very different. It is to welcome, lift up, and serve those who are escaping danger. It is to give work rather than place in work camps, it is to integrate rather than exclude. That is the path of discipleship and the path of charity.