Charlie Kirk: A Modern Martyr
The following article is a post from my social media, I hope it speaks to and encourages you in this dark hour.
To write a post like this is to somehow have all the words in your head, but too many to still be at a loss for words. On Wednesday, September 10, my hero, Charlie Kirk, was promoted to heaven as God brought home His good and faithful servant. If you genuinely followed him, you know the first words he heard were “Well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.” Now, he is in the presence of our majestic Lord.
I first found Charlie Kirk when I was a 12 year old teenage boy who was interested in politics, but little did I know that I would be finding a man with deep biblical convictions and a life dedicated to God. I was captivated by the fact that someone was able to stay so calm in what I thought was a political “spar,” but as a young man I missed what Charlie was truly doing.
Yes, he was engaging in political issues but it goes deeper than that. He was treating people who were labeled his enemies with respect, dignity, and love so that he could better understand why they thought the way they did. He talked to people so hostile and adversarial to him and treated them with more love, dignity, and respect than literally anyone else would’ve. Charlie full well understood and walked in the fruit of the Spirit and the love of Christ. We deduced him to a political figure, but he was something far greater than an activist, he was a faithful Christian who loved people so much that he gave his life just to share the Gospel with them.
People were pulled in by his superb reasoning skills, intelligence, political opinions, or for a plethora of other reasons, but they, even those who disagreed, stayed because of his consistency. He was consistently consistent in his beliefs, in how he treated people with love and kindness and respect, and in how he continually brokered the free exchange of ideas even whilst being persecuted.
Make no mistake, Charlie Kirk was made a martyr for his faith in the one true God. He was made a martyr for sharing the microphone with people who disagreed with him. He was martyred for trying to combat the vitriol and extremism in our nation. He was martyred for trying to dig up the seed of violence before it ever took root.
Charlie saw that social media, our ruling class, and politicians profited off our division. He saw their need for us to vilify each other. He saw that vilification led to ceasing conversation which led to physical altercations; and he wanted to stop it. He did what many Christians saw as beneath and too dirty for them, he gladly took on the dirty work and led countless people to the Lord. He was not a perfect man, as we all fall short of the glory of God, but he was undoubtedly a great man and will be greatly missed.
Charlie’s promotion to Heaven leaves a void that seems too big to fill, as well as leaves millions hurting and grieving. But, somehow in the midst of great tragedy, by the grace of God, there is an even greater opportunity for the Gospel to advance. While one Charlie may have put 1,000 to flight, a thousand Charlies will put many more thousands to flight. His martyrdom is bringing countless people to Christ, bringing the Church together in ways we may have seen as impossible, causing a shift in the lives of many to contend for the faith, and is causing the church to boldly continue what Charlie started.
However, this is not a time to become galvanized against people, Charlie would have never wanted that. Rather, it is a time to present the truth in love to the world around us, as Charlie always did. Like I said before, we saw Charlie as a political figure, but missed how effectively he administered the truth in love. He never attacked people, never belittled them, never insulted them, never discounted them, and never looked past their questions no matter how many times he answered them. Instead, he loved them enough to tell them the truth, he debated their ideas not belittle their person, and he was patient even when they didn’t want to understand him. He never looked for a scapegoat and he never saw anyone as too far gone.
It’s easy to make the left a scapegoat for our problems as we try and navigate the uncertain terrain ahead, but the people on the left are not our enemies. They all didn’t kill him and even he would tell you that, however ideologies do have consequences and he full well knew this. Any ideology detached from the living word of God is a breeding ground for demonic activity, while it may be the left today demons are just as common on the right and Charlie knew this. He knew that there is always an enemy out there and an enemy within and both need to be combatted. Truth and lies, good and evil know no party lines, Charlie knew this and it’s time we learned that too.
Charlie, my heart still aches that you were so quickly taken from us. Our world truly didn’t deserve you, but we are better because of you. Thank you for laying your life down for the people you would never even know. While you may not be here physically, your memory and message will live on forever, your example will sit in the minds of millions as we do our best to pick up what you started. We know you are more alive than we are now. I miss you, Charlie. I know the grief will get better but I will never forget the weightiness of your life. In honor of our Lord and of Charlie, consider this my resignation from silence. What the enemy meant to intimidate has only emboldened. As Tertullian once said, “The blood of the Martyr’s is the seed of the Church.” Thank you, again, Charlie. We will see you again.