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The power of God’s forgiveness was broadcast across Australia on 7NEWS Spotlight Sunday night. Samuel Davidson, the drugged and drunk driver who killed three of Danny and Leila Abdallah’s children, declared that he now looks up to Danny as a godfather and said, “I want to be like Danny.”

The one-hour program revealed that Danny’s extraordinary act of forgiveness has transformed Samuel’s life and brought deep healing to Danny himself.

On 1 February 2020, the lives of the Abdallah family were tragically turned upside down. Three of their children were lost to the reckless driving of Samuel Davidson, who was intoxicated and under the influence of illicit substances.

We would expect grief-stricken parents, Leila and Danny, to become angry, vengeful, and filled with resentment for this man.

But three days later, Leila told the world that she and her family chose to forgive.

7NEWS Spotlight featured this story on Sunday, 17 August. I felt encouraged to see a story like this covered on mainstream media because it forces us to wrestle with uncomfortable questions: Are we truly willing to forgive? Or do we only forgive when it’s easy or convenient? Or when we’re ready?

Danny’s Desire for Obedience

Danny and Leila Abdallah didn’t have time to be ready. They never got to say goodbye to their children. Yet, in the midst of their pain and suffering, they forgave the man who took the lives of their three children.

That’s incredibly powerful. It is only Christ-like love that can empower that readiness to forgive.

As Danny shared at the 2023 National Prayer Breakfast:

“The reason I forgave was I wanted to be obedient to our Lord and Saviour and honour Him at whatever cost”.

At whatever cost.

‘I Want to Be Like Danny’: Samuel Davidson

On 30 August 2023, Danny chose to visit Samuel in prison.

Samuel recalls what it was like to have Danny forgive him:

“I’ve now got a second chance at life here. He’s forgiven me, so that’s massive. I look at him like a godfather, I want to do everything to be like him”.

Danny has since visited Samuel several times, sharing Scripture and chapel time together. He has also reached out to Samuel’s parents. As Danny shares with the 7NEWS reporter, “What [Samuel’s parents] have been through isn’t easy. They’re grieving as well.”

This instalment of Spotlight mentions that Danny and Samuel are participating in the New South Wales Correctional Services’ Restorative Justice Program. Through this program, victims have the opportunity to meet with the offender, where the perpetrator can “confront the consequences of his crime, provide an apology and show remorse.”

But we can see that Danny’s heart for Samuel goes far beyond his participation in this program. From a Christian perspective, we understand it as a powerful form of prison ministry.

‘You Visited Me in Prison’

In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the Final Judgement Day when He will return in glory to separate “the sheep from the goats”. Many of us have read well-known parts of this passage, such as “I was hungry and you fed me, I was naked and you clothed me” (Matthew 25:35). Jesus says the sheep will “inherit the kingdom prepared for you” (Matthew 25:34).

But it’s easy to miss these words: “I was in prison, and you visited me” (Matthew 25:36).

I must admit, when I’ve read this verse in the past, I’d never really thought about what it meant to visit someone in prison.

Yes, I’d heard of those who did prison ministry, sharing the gospel with strangers in jail, including ex-gang members. But it had never occurred to me that prison ministry could involve deeply loving and caring for someone like Samuel.

What if God calls me to do the same for someone who had wronged me? Would I have the strength and compassion to go and share the hope of the gospel with a criminal? And not just any criminal, but an individual who had taken the life of someone I loved, treasured and cared for?

Why should this person not be nothing to me? Dead to me? Someone to resent and curse? How could I not harbour hate against someone who has caused me such grief? Who has made me numb, left me with a part of my life I would rather block out of my mind.

Forgiven So We Can Forgive

But as Christians, we are compelled to live out a different narrative. Because “God showed his love in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). How can we hold onto hate and refuse to forgive when God stopped at nothing to forgive us and to redeem us as His own?

Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” And as a natural consequence of part of that process – of giving our pain and suffering over to God – God transforms our hearts to be more like His heart for us. A heart that forgives. A heart that loves. Because God is love.

This kind of love is not formed by feelings but by a selfless motivation to act. This selflessness comes from this radical action: God stepped into our world in the person of Jesus, to be spat upon, ridiculed, and ultimately endure the shame and suffering of the cross so that we might have a restored relationship with Him.

Only a radical Christ-like love could compel Danny to visit and nurture a relationship with Samuel. To teach his surviving children to pray for Samuel. To call Samuel a part of the same circle of family. It is only God’s power that can bring about that restoration and healing. It is only God’s power that can “work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

You can see the hope in Samuel’s eyes when he talks about how the Abdallah family have forgiven him:

“He’s given me forgiveness, he’s welcomed me into his family, he’s gone above and beyond. I’d have no hope if I couldn’t have that [forgiveness].”

Out of tragedy, Samuel’s eyes have been opened to a better way to live:

“Don’t drink, don’t take drugs, don’t do any of it. Some of you might think I’m crazy, but go to a church, give it a shot, try it.”

It is incredibly awe-inspiring to witness the good work being done in the lives of Samuel and the Abdallah family. May their testimony, through the power of the Holy Spirit, convict and embolden us to embrace God’s forgiveness “as we forgive those who have trespassed against us” (Matthew 6:12).

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Image via screenshot of YouTube/7NEWS.