By now you have heard of the verdict in the killing of Botham Jean, the unarmed black man who was shot by a neighbor, white Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. Ms. Guyger claimed that she erroneously thought she had entered her own apartment that night in September 2018, not Jean’s. When she saw him sitting on a couch in the dark, she presumed he was a burglar and shot him to death.

The jury was not convinced. Office Guyger was found guilty of murder on October 1 and will spend the next 10 years behind bars if she is not paroled.

It’s a story alright. The other story is the action of Jean’s younger brother Brandt Jean, also black, who said from the witness stand that he frankly forgave Guyger for killing his brother, wished her only well, preferred she not go to prison, and urged her to give her heart to Jesus Christ. Then he stepped down from the witness stand and, with the judge’s permission, gave the weeping Guyger an emotional albeit controversial hug.

Controversial indeed. Every major U.S. news outlet ran an opinion piece on that hug, and from the comments that followed, it seems many are outraged by Jean’s gift of grace. Take heed, they say, that we don’t use a hug between a black man and a white woman to lessen the impact of the countless injustices inflicted by whites upon blacks via slavery. For these writers and readers, this is a political story.

But it’s not a political story because it wasn’t a political act. Here you have the essence of the Gospel: Our sin is outrageous, an egregious affront to a holy God; therefore to have it wiped away by the blood of Christ out of sheer grace—his love for us—is equally outrageous. We are wired to want justice because we are made in God's image, and He demands justice. Someone must pay. But we we are sinful by nature. Nothing we can do or give measures up to his holy standard. So only God Himself could pay the price for our sin. Because He loves us, He paid it on the cross.

Amber Guyger did nothing to deserve Brandt Jean’s forgiveness. She didn’t even ask for it. Brandt Jean extended it out of love borne from gratitude, gratitude borne from his knowledge that his own sins had been freely forgiven. He received freely, so he gave freely.

That doesn’t make his grace cheap. It’s just that Brandt Jean knows Who paid the high price to keep him and the rest of us out of Hell.

How can I know assuredly that Brandt Jean acted from gratitude and love? Because six years ago I also sat on a witness stand and begged a judge to show mercy to the accused, the young man who was driving more than 100 MPH in a 55 MHP zone when he lost control, struck a tree, and killed a passenger, my 18-year-old son. I also wanted the driver to avoid prison, live a happy life, and find Jesus Christ. This doesn’t mean that Brandt Jean and I oppose judgment. Not at all. We know the courts will take care of that. But we also know what it cost Christ to purge our sins. When you understand the enormity of your sinfulness and the price Christ paid, it's easy to forgive.

Black and white, we all need forgiveness. That's the real story.