Becky Grise called it a “Christmas miracle.” We hope it’s more of a Christmas example.

Grise, the Butler County woman whose kidney disease led her to seek a kidney donor through social media, billboards and whatever other means she could employ, had her prayers answered when Bowling Green resident Kevin Harrod decided he was willing to part with a vital organ in order to help a woman he had never met.

Coming as it did during the holiday season, Harrod’s selfless gesture is easily lumped in with other feel-good stories. But this isn’t paying off someone’s lay-away item or serving meals to the homeless.

Harrod, a 48-year-old who has worked at the Warren County Regional Jail for nearly two decades, isn’t out a few bucks for a gift or inconvenienced for a couple of hours while dishing up vegetables.

He has already endured multiple blood tests and scans to ensure that he’s an acceptable donor. That was the easy part. Next Tuesday, if all goes according to plan, Harrod will voluntarily give up an organ that does nothing less than filter his blood. By giving up one of his two kidneys, he will be cutting in half his body’s ability to perform functions that are vital to life.

All because he wants to help a person unrelated to him.

Harrod has been candid about his motivation for making what can only be described as a supreme act of altruism.

“God told me I needed to help her,” he said. “I’ve learned when He asks you to do something, you listen.”

Harrod, who loves gospel music and is rooted in his Christian faith, was definitely following the example of Jesus Christ when he made the decision to donate. But you don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate what he is doing.

Adherents of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism or secular humanism can and should understand that emulating Harrod’s example of selfless sacrifice can pay great dividends for society.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

Harrod chose to walk in the light, and maybe it’s not simple coincidence that he is doing so during a season devoted to gift-giving.

Santa Claus, with his sleigh full of toys, represents the spirit of Christmas. Harrod is nothing less than the living embodiment of the season.

At a time when contentiousness and self-serving acts seem to dominate our public discourse, Harrod stands out as one of the brightest examples of what the late President George H.W. Bush famously called “a thousand points of light” in promoting volunteerism.

If all goes well, Grise’s life will be better for the sacrifice Harrod is making. Not everyone can or should make the type of donation Harrod is making, but we can all donate some part of ourselves to improve the lot of others less fortunate.

It’s hard to imagine a better gift during this holiday season.