It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths while he was waiting at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London. It’s even harder to understand why ordinary people like us can be so cruel to one another. Stephen and his parents lived in a multicultural neighbourhood, but tragically for him the bus stop where he stood waiting was in an area known for racism. It was a brutal killing and the pain has merely been compounded by the fact that the police investigation into his death has not reached a satisfactory conclusion, and that some of those involved have yet to be convicted.

Gary Dobson was jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months, and David Norris for 14 years and three months in January 2012. The pair were convicted after microscopic samples of Stephen Lawrence’s DNA were found on the clothes they had been wearing in the attack. Three others were publicly named as suspects but police have said fresh prosecutions are unlikely unless new evidence is found.

The BBC’s three part series ‘Stephen - The Murder That Changed a Nation’ was a fitting tribute to a young man who had everything to live for (he was just 18 at the time of his death), but its title is open to debate given the fact that the Lawrence family lawyer is reported to have claimed that ‘Institutional racism’ is not just alive but thriving. I can’t comment on the accuracy of that comment but I do know that Stephen’s father has discovered an incredibly important truth. He has come to see that we can forgive those who hurt us badly even if they haven’t asked for it. And when we do we are all the better for it. Dr. Lawrence, who now supports families of other murdered young people, said: “It was one of the hardest things for me to say to myself, ‘I forgive you for the murder of my son’.” This has made his life ‘a long way better now,’ he claims, adding:?“Maybe if I had done it earlier, it would have been better for me as well.”

And it has proved comforting that he can now see that the killers made his son ‘into a legend’ and that the impact that his death had on British society has been ‘amazing.’

“It has helped me because in a sense it is helping others,” he adds. “Although I’ve lost Stephen, I’ve gained something else in that my son is not going to be forgotten.”

Time alone will tell if this terrible crime has really changed the nation however. When I think of racism, I’m reminded of what the Royal Horticultural Society has said of Japanese knotweed: “Eradication requires determination as it is very hard to remove by hand or eradicate with chemicals.”

But whether it’s changed the nation or not, it has clearly changed one man’s perspective, and we would all do well to learn from Neville Lawrence’s experience. And it’s also worth noting too he has realised that a willingness to forgive need not dampen our hunger for justice. They are not mutually exclusive. We can embrace them both because the God who created us is a God of mercy but of justice too.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]