“We already forgive him for what he’s done, and there’s nothing but love from our side of the family,” teenager Chris Singleton told BBC News. Chris’s mother, Sharonda Singleton, was one of the nine people who lost their lives in the church killings June 18 in Charleston, South Carolina. She had been a speech pathologist and coach of the girl’s track team at Goose Creek High School. She was also on the ministerial staff at the church.

Dylan Roof, 21, filled with hatred, walked into a church after the Bible study concluded, pulled out a gun, and killed nine people. Roof received the opposite of what he wanted to produce, an unbelievable amount of forgiveness from the victims’ families.

Family members of those killed at Roof’s hands were given the chance to speak to their loved ones' alleged killer during his bond hearing. "Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate…they [the victims] lived in love," said Alana Simmons, the granddaughter of Reverend Daniel.

On Oct. 2, 2006, Terri Roberts’ 32-year-old son Charles C. Roberts, went into an Amish school in Lancaster County and shot 10 young girls, killing five of them before killing himself. All Terri could think about was that she needed to move out of the city. To her surprise, some of the Amish families came to her that evening after the shooting and told her to stay.

Donald Kraybill, a sociologist at nearby Elizabethtown College and co-author of Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy wrote: “I think the most powerful demonstration of the depth of Amish forgiveness was when members of the Amish community went to the killer's burial service at the cemetery. Several Amish families who had buried their own daughters just the day before were in attendance and they hugged the widow and other members of the killer's family." The Amish community did not stop there—they also offered financial support to Roberts, the shooter’s widow.

"For the mother and father who had lost not just one but two daughters at the hand of our son, to come up and be the first ones to greet us—wow. Is there anything in this life that we should not forgive?” asked Terri Roberts, the shooter’s mom.

Roberts went on to offer this advice in regards to healing: "Ask God to provide new things in your lives, new things to focus on," she said. "That doesn't take the place of what is lost. But it can give us a hope and a future." A future only made possible by forgiveness. See the powerful video of Terri’s story here.

Forgiveness is the healing of wounds caused by another. We make the choice to try and let go of the past hurt and forgive those who have hurt us, and move on. Our greatest emotional healer, Jesus Christ, inspired this advice to be written concerning forgiveness: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). He not only gave the advice, but lived that advice by example.

While Jesus was hanging on the cross, being spit on, made fun of and suffering great pain, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23-24, New International Version). “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly” (1 Peter 2:23, NIV).

The Amish people in 2006 and now the families in Charleston, South Carolina, who both lost loved ones from a senseless shooting simply rose to the occasion and showed us all what forgiveness is all about. In the midst of their grief over their shocking loss, they didn’t cast blame, they didn’t point fingers, and they didn’t hold a press conference with attorneys at their sides. They prayed, which gave them the strength to offer forgiveness.

May we all have a forgiving heart when people do bad things to us, so we can move on and heal. Many times this will require seeking God on our knees for the needed help to be able to say those three powerful words: I forgive you.