Brokenness. Some days we see subtle hints of it. On other days its intensity grips a country.

The horrific event in Charleston at “Mother Emanuel” AME Church June 17 was one of those moments. A young man filled with hate toward a people whose skin color is the only thing he knew walked in to a prayer gathering and killed nine of them.

It didn’t surprise many of us. We have seen evil like this before. Just as we were about to change the channel, something different happened that caught the attention of the world. One by one, each family member walked into a courtroom where the gunman was being arraigned, stared evil in the eye, and said something that didn’t make sense: “I forgive you. Confess Jesus as your Lord and be forgiven.”