I confess, when I read reports about senseless acts of violence against people, it makes me angry. Sometimes I want the ones who inflicted the pain to be given the same treatment they gave their victims. But God has been convicting me that I need to react with compassion rather than anger. It’s easy to feel compassion for the one who’s been abused; not so easy to be compassionate toward the abuser. But in God’s eyes, the two are equally loved. In God’s eyes, both are equally broken. Hatred flows from a life that is so riddled with ugliness nothing but ugliness can come out. People caught in sin’s embrace need our compassion. They need our prayers. They need us to point them to the One who can heal their brokenness and grow them in grace. This simple prayer, “Break my heart for what breaks Yours,” always brings me to tears. Tears for the abusers who are so very lost and so desperately need a Savior. Let’s pray for the abusers. Prayer can change hearts—ours, and theirs.