Until last year, not too many people knew about Botham Jean or Amber Guyger. This week, those two names have come back in to national news as Ms. Guyger faced her fate being charged with murder and the sentencing. Now, two other names have become prominent in the continuation of this story: Brandt Jean, Botham’s brother and Judge Tammy Kemp.
If you have watched any news story in the last two days, you have seen and witnessed Jesus in action. First, Brandt Jean offering forgiveness to Ms. Guyger, even asking the judge to give her a hug. In his brokenness, he knew she needed healing from her brokenness too.
Judge Tammy Kemp offers consolation to the Jean family. She then turns her attention to Amber Guyger. To Guyger, Judge King shared the Jesus story, citing John 3:16 and giving her own Bible to the defendant.
In an exchange between the two women, it was recorded:
“Ma’am,” the judge said warmly. “It’s not because I’m good. It’s because I believe in Christ.”
“You haven’t done so much that you can’t be forgiven,” the judge told her. “You did something bad in one moment in time. What you do now matters.”
Every day, to a certain extent, we stand before a Judge who looks at our day and we are to give an account of what we did that day. So, we self evaluate as we stand. We think, “How did I treat people?” “Did I act responsible and respectful in handling everything I faced today?”
If our standard is our own perspective, then most days we would say we are good people. If our standard is Jesus, how would we reflect on our actions and words of the day? My prayer for my life is similar to Judge Kemp, “I believe in Jesus. He is the one who makes me good!”
Be blessed and be a blessing!
Jimbo's Jots 
Leave a comment