Almost 19 years ago, four white teenagers assaulted an older black man in Grand Rapids, torturing him until he died. Willie Jones was a GM retiree who had just finished bowling when the teens beat him up, stuffed him in the trunk of his own car, and drove the car around until the next morning, when they killed him and dumped his body near Morley. The trials were notable in that the victim’s brother, the Rev. Charlie Jones, expressed forgiveness to the families of the murderers.

Two of the murderers were under 18 at the time of the crime, and were sentenced to mandatory life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder. They both became eligible for re-sentencing after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that mandatory life sentences were cruel and unusual when imposed on minors.

The re-sentencing hearing for one of them, Joshua Rogers, was held in Kent County Circuit Court last week. In a brief statement, Rogers  apologized to the relatives of Willie Jones. The Rev. Charlie Jones was not there to hear it, having passed on to glory in 2015.

But Pastor Charlie’s son, James Jones, was there, and he ended up telling Rogers he forgave him. According to the Grand Rapids Press, Jones said to his uncle’s murderer, “This is something I’ve been wrestling with. Before, I was going to come in here and just tear you down. But I’ve been praying about it.” He talked about “what my father taught me about forgiveness and not to react out of anger. Forgiveness. You asked for it. I’m going to give that back to you.”

I am awed and humbled by such forgiveness. If there was ever an unforgiveable act, this was it; the murder was so brutal, and so senseless. Rogers used scissors to inflict the fatal stab wounds. It would be completely understandable for James Jones not to forgive Rogers. And indeed, at the re-sentencing hearing last month for the other teen-murderer, Chad Maleski, James Jones objected to a sentence reduction, telling the judge that Maleski “could’ve stepped away at any point.” But Mr. Jones, influenced by his father, who was impelled by his love of Christ, has now been able to do what seems humanly impossible: forgive his uncle’s murderer.

Peacemaking includes being able to admit being wrong. So stories of people who publicly acknowledge being wrong are encouraging and instructive.

Recently, author Joshua Harris has acknowledged that the popular book he wrote some twenty years ago, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was not only naïve but in some cases caused harm, and asked his publisher to cease publishing it. Harris realizes that he was “young, certain, zealous and restlessly ambitious,” when he discouraged Christians from dating, a view he now recognizes as not based on Scripture.

“Admitting that I was wrong hasn’t been easy for me. I’ve angered people who still like my book, and my efforts are understandably viewed as inadequate by the people who were hurt. But I’m glad I set out on this journey because it’s been a pathway of transformation for me, and I’ve heard from others who have found healing in knowing they’re not alone in reconsidering old ways of thinking…

“Admitting I was wrong about the biggest accomplishment of my life has given me a greater willingness to admit that I don’t have all the answers…”

Mr. Harris notes that critics are referring to his current round of talks as an “apology tour.” Should one apologize for promoting a particular viewpoint that one later regrets? Apology is appropriate when there has been an offense. But writing a book promoting a particular lifestyle is not in itself offensive. Readers are free to accept or reject the ideas in Mr. Harris’s book, so if readers were harmed, perhaps it’s because they put too much stock in Mr. Harris’s ideas without evaluating those ideas for themselves. Perhaps it’s a matter of influence: Mr. Harris used his influence to promote a particular viewpoint that he now realizes was incorrect. Whether or not others were harmed, it’s a matter of integrity now for him to correct that viewpoint.

Mr. Harris is to be admired for admitting publicly that he was “wrong.” That takes humility.