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The date was September 6, 2018.

Amber Guyger, an off duty white police officer, had just shot an innocent black man who was watching television and eating ice cream on his couch. She shot Botham Jean twice that evening with the intent to kill. She was ending a shift on the Dallas Police force. She thought he was an intruder in her apartment.

Amber Guyger was convicted of the murder and ordered to serve ten years in prison.

Brandt Jean is the victim’s eighteen-year-old brother. He was given an opportunity to address Guyger in court. This moment was a tinderbox. Brandt, however, refused to light the match.

He did not wish any ill will upon Guyger. To the contrary, he wished nothing but the best, and asked the presiding judge a stunning question. Holding back tears, the 18-year-old asked the judge, “I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug? Please?”

The judged paused, then said “Yes.”

Sobs could be heard in the courtroom as witness and accused embraced.

Good for Brandt. He set us a sterling example. Forgiveness does not downplay the offense, excuse the misdeed, nor does it condone it. Forgiveness is simply the act of changing your attitude toward the offender; it’s moving from a desire to harm toward an openness to be at peace. This teenager reminded us that, while justice matters, forgiveness heals. He modeled the power of forgiveness.

The judge, a black woman, then displayed the power of kindness. Tammy Kemp left the bench to retrieve one of her personal Bibles; then handed it to Guyger. “This is your job for the next month. It says right here. John 3:16. And this is where you start.” Then the judge quoted the verse, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Then she hugged Guyger as well.

Who saw this coming?
We expect government officials to remain detached, to keep faith at arm’s length. And yet here, in the middle of a courtroom, we see a refreshing, affirming act of humanity. We see a person treating another person like, well, like a person.

We see Christ-followers acting like, well, Christ-followers.

“In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:11, NLT)

The judge is under fire for her kindness. A national atheist group, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, has filed a formal complaint with the State of Texas, stating that Kemp’s actions overstepped judicial authority.

Really?

Can we not appreciate this gesture for what it is?
A flower finding a way to bloom in this hard sidewalk of our society?
We are so harsh to one another. Leaders in DC, shouting. People on the airwaves, shouting. Motorists in traffic, shouting. Anger seems to be the order of the day. Then, when a person models an act of kindness, we recoil. We accuse her of proselytizing. 

I, for one, welcome her compassion, grace and forgiveness.

You and I live in a lonely planet. Broken hearts populate every office building, every school building, every neighborhood. Discouragement mummifies countless lives. The world is hungry, yes hungry for overflowing kindness. We cannot solve every problem in society, but we can bring hope to a few hearts. And, who knows, if you brighten your corner of the world and I do the same in mine, a quiet revolution of kindness might just break out.

Grace and forgiveness might become the norm instead of the exception.

So, if you are a part of the atheist group filing for "intolerance" of other belief systems, I wish I could say loud and clear:

I DON'T LIKE YOUR INTOLERANCE OF OUR TOLERANCE AND LOVE AS BELIEVERS! WHAT GOOD HAVE YOU DONE FOR THIS HURTING WORLD BESIDES TRYING TO HINDER THOSE OF US WHO EMBRACE GRACE AND FORGIVENESS IN LIVING IT OUT?

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:12–13, NLT)

• Who do you know who is living in bitterness?
  Who is living in the freedom of forgiveness?
  What differences do you see in their lives?

Rejoicing, On the Victory Side!

Beau

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