Friends, if you want to make a difference today — right now! — seek out the people in your community who feel unseen, unsafe and alone … and pour your heart into them.

If you are a Jesus follower, empty yourself as Christ did, for the sake of their and your community’s wellbeing.

Twice in the past week as a pastor, I’ve been approached by people who are terrified. People who have every reason to worry about their own and their loved ones’ safety, given the recent treatment of people on the margins.

As their pleading eyes bore into me, they implored me to answer why God would allow the continued persecution of those who are immigrants and refugees, those who are LGBTQIA2S+ and those who are unhoused.

And that is a very difficult question to answer.

Because even when I offer that the Holy Spirit certainly still is active in this world, and that none of us walks alone, the reality is there are millions of our neighbors who are still haunted everyday by the knowledge that they, or someone they love, could be picked up off the street without question, could be assaulted and injured or could be forgotten about altogether.

Worse yet, both of these folks shared with me, is that they know that there are millions of others who could not care less. Folks who don’t seem to be able to look beyond their myopic lens of who deserves dignity and who doesn’t.

This is where we must come in, friends. Whether you consider yourself a particularly faithful person, or just someone wanting to help heal a fractured world, this is where and when we must lead with love.

Admittedly, the world’s issues are too big to comprehend. Hey, it even seems impossible that Americans will find common ground. And all of that is overwhelming.

But what you can do today is seek out one person who is terrified and feels unseen. … And empty your love into them.

For those of us who follow Christ, that’s literally what we are called to do. For others just seeking to help heal the world, it’s the most direct step forward.

Befriend one person today. Tell them that you see them and value them for the person that they are. Assure them they deserve dignity, and all of the human rights many of us take for granted, safety, shelter, food and love.

I know that we don’t all possess the financial means to move the needle on this world’s hurt, but I can assure you that to one person, just pouring into them your kindness and compassion doesn’t have to cost you a thing.

And that is how together we heal a broken world. Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.