I didn’t really listen to Charlie Kirk.
In fact, other than the clips I saw from time to time, I only intentionally listened to his podcast once or twice. I wrongfully associated him with some others on the right whom I really do not appreciate and figured he was part of the same crowd. It wasn’t until after his assassination that I realized how wrong I was.
I saw two different clips of Charlie in the days after his death that really struck me. First, he was asked if he ever fears for his own security at his events. The typical Christian response would be something along the lines of “No, because God will keep me safe.” Charlie answered no, but for an entirely different reason. He said that when he walked through the gates of heaven, he didn’t want God asking him why he cowered in fear instead of fulfilling the calling he had placed on his life. He never claimed that he would be safe, nor gave some Christian-ese answer about trusting in God.
The second was a question about why he hated the LGBT crowd. His response was essentially “How can I hate the people that I love so much to do events like this specifically to point them to the hope of Jesus?”
The more I’ve seen, the more I wish I would have listened to him.
Just as interesting to me has been the reaction to his death. People have shown their true colors. When you heard that he was murdered, you had one of two responses: you were angry, or you were not angry.
To those who were not angry: Why were you not angry at the immorality, at the evil that took place? Romans 1:18 says, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” If something angers God, it should anger us too. We must not sin in our anger (Ephesians 4:26), but we must not just ignore evil.
It sickens me to see people who have celebrated his death. I don’t care if you disagreed with every single thing he said. To celebrate the murder of those expressing opposing views, to celebrate a school shooting, to celebrate death, and to celebrate the fact that his wife is now a widow and his two children who will now grow up without a father is absolutely despicable.
To those who were angry: What exactly were you angry about? Are you angry because your guy is no longer here? Because a conservative voice is now gone? Are you angry because God took away the man you were giving a messiah complex? There are good things to be angry about. There are also bad reasons to be angry.
I’ve heard several political commentators (who I tend to like, for the record) who have reacted in sinful anger, seemingly using this as the launching platform against their political enemies. Those who are claiming that it’s time to start fighting back - NO. Jesus healed the soldier’s ear when Peter cut it off. We fight back, but not fire with fire. Paul tells us to “Fight the good fight of the faith” in 1 Timothy 6:12, but we don’t fight with anger and rage.
Charlie Kirk wanted to change the culture, but he realized there is only one way to do it. Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote of Charlie Kirk:
I first met Charlie Kirk several years ago when we were both addressing a major conference of conservatives. Backstage, I was impressed by his gifts but turned off by his demeanor. That was during Charlie’s years of bare-fisted libertarianism and personal assertion. Back then, he saw Christianity as a huge drag on conservative progress. He was pretty clear in calling for a new young conservatism of liberty and resistance. At the time, he didn’t have a lot of use for conservative Christians, and he wasn’t subtle.
Not long thereafter, Charlie embraced two things that had been missing from his earlier approach. He openly and boldly claimed the gospel of Christ and courageously identified himself as a Christian believer. He also began to argue with consistency that a recovery of Christian truth was essential for a lasting conservatism. He was right.
(from Albert Mohler, A Most Tragic Turning Point)
Charlie came to realize that Jesus is what matters first and foremost. We cannot change the world for the better without Christ. Without Christ, what is “better”?
He was asked less than three months before his death how he would want to be remembered if he died. His answer was, “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing; most important thing is my faith."
This was not just a matter of politics; this is a spiritual matter. The spiritual world is alive and very active. Are we going to stand up, go into the uncomfortable places, talk with those most opposed, or are we going to sit back and wait for someone else to do what God is calling each and every one of us to do?
Charlie is gone. God will use his calling on Charlie’s life to have an even bigger impact through his death than if he were still here. Will we answer the call to be a part of that impact?