The Power Of Forgiveness
Erika Kirk’s public granting of forgiveness to her husband’s killer caught the nation’s attention. It was a beautiful display of the Gospel and reminded me of something I witnessed a few years ago that brought me to tears.
I was watching an 18-year-old, Brandt, exemplifying Jesus on my computer screen. His older brother, Botham, was his best friend. But that best friend’s life was quickly ended by the careless actions of Amber Guyger, an off-duty Dallas police officer who entered the wrong apartment, and, thinking that Botham was burglarizing her home, shot and killed him.
She was allegedly distracted by a phone call with a married man with whom she was having an affair. She heard Botham inside the apartment before opening the door and could/should have taken cover and called on her radio for help. But instead, she entered the wrong apartment with her gun drawn and killed him.
Brandt lost his brother and best friend.
After the sentencing and words of condemnation to Amber by others, and through background noise of chanting in the hallway, “No justice, no peace,” Brandt took his place behind the microphone. It was his turn to talk to the woman who killed his brother and friend.
“If you are truly sorry,” he began, “I forgive you. If you go to God, He will forgive you. I want the best for you. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want for you.”
“I love you as a person, and I don't wish anything bad on you. I don’t even want you to go to jail.” He then asked the judge if he could give her a hug. When the judge agreed and he stepped around the desk to approach her, Amber Guyger broke into tears, rushed to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing.
That was not the end. Moved by what she had witnessed, the judge stepped out of the room for a moment, then reentered with a Bible. She embraced and whispered to Botham’s mother, “I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the way you modeled Christ.”
She then stepped up to the now-convicted murderer, placed the Bible in front of her, and gently said, “Read this.”
Guyger jumped to her feet and embraced the judge, who in turn hugged her back, whispering something inaudible in her ear.
Tragic events, and even harm done to us, are inevitable in life. But the power of a sincere Christian witness—putting Jesus on display in our response to evil—has the potential to change the world. Brandt Botham’s act of forgiveness inspired a judge to do likewise. She saw Jesus exemplified in this teenage boy, and it motivated her to follow suit, extending grace.
Let’s pray that Tyler Robinson, too, receives it.