I rarely do this, but last night was watching Nightline and caught the story of Stephen Dziemian's liver transplant. This real-life drama captivated me not because of Dziemian, but because of the story of the man who became a live liver donor for him. It was a man who was not much more than an acquaintance.

In a nutshell, Dziemian, a 36-year-old husband and father, had a fatal liver disease and needed a transplant. The transplant could also be fatal or sickening to a potential donor who would be required to give 60 percent of his healthy liver in order to possibly save Dziemian's life. Biology or other complications ruled out his wife, brother and other relatives and friends.

Finally, a man named Carlo Morrisey stepped forward. He hardly knew Dziemian—only a sort of friend of a friend. A high school psychologist, Morrisey is 56 but was approved as the donor.

Making the sacrifice

"Why would this man make a sacrifice like that?" a Nightline reporter asked.

Morrisey said it wasn't a death wish or martyrdom. Nor was it ignorance or a craving for heroism. 

"There's risks involved for me," Morrisey said. "There is going to be a long recovery. There's going to be pain. Those are things I'd rather avoid."

Still, Morrisey stepped into the situation, showing more compassion than fear.

Then he said something that hasn't yet made the Web transcript or the half of the video that Nightline has posted online. I'll have to re-tell you from memory, disclosing the fact that I wasn't taking notes.

Doing the Christlike thing

The reporter, John Donvan, asked Morrisey about the idea of him being a hero for offering his liver to Dziemian. Morrisey said he didn't like that label. Then he said he was only doing what his Christian faith called him to do.

Morrisey said the Bible says we are supposed to love our neighbor, not just like him a lot. He said he was called not just to believe in Jesus and be saved from his sin, but to follow the ways of Jesus and do the things he would do.

Don't you wish I had a link to that video? Don't you wish you could watch it? Or show it in church?

Here's some of the video: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3617088. Maybe Nightline will post the second half eventually; this is part of a "Life and Death" series now running on Nightline.

This Massachusetts man may not consider himself a hero for saving someone's life, but he is certainly a hero of the faith. At least we can tell his story, emulate his beliefs and pray that our churches will be full of true followers. Followers such as Carlo Morrisey.