On September 6, 2018,
Amber Guyger—an off-duty patrol officer in Dallas—entered the apartment of
26-year-old accountant Botham Jean. She later said she thought it was her own
apartment and mistook Jean for a burglar, shooting and killing him.
One year later, on October
1, 2019, she was found guilty of murder. On October 2, she was sentenced to 10
years in prison. Botham Jean’s brother Brandt was allowed to give a
victim-impact statement, and he addressed Amber Guyger directly. The result was
a beautiful Christian testimony—truly salt and light in a dark and twisted
world.
“If you truly are sorry, I
can speak for myself, I forgive, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he
will forgive you. And I don’t think anyone can say it—again I’m speaking for
myself—but I love you just like anyone else. And I’m not gonna say I hope you
rot and die just like my brother did, but I presently want the best for you. And
I wasn’t going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don’t
even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you, because I know that’s
exactly what Botham would want you to do. And the best would be to give your
life to Christ. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that
Botham would want you to do. I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give
her a hug, please? Please?”[i]
Amber and Brandt embraced
with tears flowing in the middle of the courtroom. Moments later, Judge Tammy
Kemp, returned to the courtroom with her personal Bible in hand. She gifted it
to the officer, Amber R. Guyger, and pointed to John 3:16. Then, as the woman
convicted of murder reached out her arms, the judge, still in her black robe
and pearled necklace, wrapped her in an embrace.[ii]
Some in the media these
actions in the courtroom “crossed the line,” but no one could argue with the
power of forgiveness. I have said many times we are never more like Jesus than
when we forgive our enemies. “Father forgive them for they know not what they
do,” Jesus cried from the cross (Luke 23:34).
Along with a personal transformation
that comes from a conversion to Christ, forgiveness may be the most profound
way that the Gospel breaks through the callousness and “get-even” mentality of
our world. That’s because forgiveness is not natural; it’s supernatural. It
takes the power of Christ working in us to release those who have hurt us. As
C.S. Lewis has said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable,
because God had forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
Friend, who do you need to
forgive today? I’m not saying it will be easy, but with Christ it’s possible.
Don’t carry that grudge, that pain, that burden any longer. Through prayer,
express to God that you relinquish the right to collect debt on any level and
to release your bitterness. You can enjoy the freedom of forgiveness today and
see God work in your heart in amazing ways.
-DM
[i]
Justin Taylor, “He Asked to Hug the Woman Who Killed His Brother: ‘I Forgive
You.’ ‘I Love You.’ ‘Give Your Life to Christ.’” The Gospel Coalition, 2
October 2019 <https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/asked-hug-woman-killed-brother-forgive-love-give-life-christ/>
[ii] Sarah Mervosh and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, “Amber
Guyger’s Judge Gave Her a Bible and a Hug. Did That Cross a Line?” New York
Times, 4 October 2019 <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/04/us/amber-guyger-judge-tammy-kemp-hug.html>
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