The murder of Charlie Kirk enraged me. We should never have to eulogize a 31-year-old. Charlie’s life was cut short far too soon, and the senselessness of it leaves us stunned and angry. Death at that age is especially cruel because it is a theft not only from the person, but from his family, his friends, and from the work he was still doing in the world. There are no words that can make that right.
I confess that my first thoughts were not holy thoughts. My first words were not church words. I know enough about myself to recognize that in moments like this, ugliness can rise quickly to the surface, and that it is best to reject impulses and turn instead to God. So I prayed about how to respond, about what to say, and about what to call others to remember. Out of that prayer, three truths became clear.
First, in the darkest storm, focus on the brightest light. That light is Christ. And Christ does not merely suggest but commands us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and repay evil with good (Romans 12:17–21). That teaching isn’t just there for when we feel like it, or for minor slights that don’t really matter to us anyway, like somebody cutting you off in traffic. It is for such a time as this. Maybe it’s not what we want to hear, but it’s what we need to hear. Because to repay evil with evil is to become the very thing we hate, and then the enemy wins twice. There are a lot of evil people in the world saying the worst things imaginable. That’s their trap. They cannot defeat us if we do not become like them. My challenge to you, when you see nasty posts, is to use that as an opportunity to show true love to those people.
Secondly, and just as importantly, do not be afraid. Some of us are more public and outspoken than others, and it’s natural to want to recoil and recede. Stop. Remember always that ours is not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Speak up. Speak louder. Do not retreat. Now is not a time for surrender, but to put on the full armor of God: the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, and then to stand (Ephesians 6:10–18). That’s the last part of that verse that people forget: stand. Stand taller than ever. Stand for what you believe in. Stand for each other, and for what is right and good and holy. If we do that, our enemy that rises against us in one direction will flee in seven (Deut. 28:7).
And lastly, remember who the enemy really is. I don’t mean Democrats. We war not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and rulers of darkness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Evil wants us to turn on each other. Turn on it instead.
The awfulness of yesterday has also caused me to recall the words of Robert F. Kennedy announcing the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. That specific event was obviously race-related, but the basic theme, and its invocation, is just as relevant today:
“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in… you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization… filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country… So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love.
A prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we’ve had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.“
Those words are as true now as they were in 1968. They demonstrate true leadership; not these panicked calls for revenge or civil war, or reflexive denouncements of the other side’s group responsibility. RFK here echoes the very heart of Christ’s teaching. The darker the night, the brighter our light must shine. If we allow grief and rage to consume us, the darkness wins. But if we stand firm in Christ—if we love when we are hated, speak truth when others lie, and refuse to yield to fear—then the light of God burns brighter through us.
My suggested reading for tonight is Psalm 91, which I reproduce here in full:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
We should never have to lament the loss of a young man in his prime. But since we must, let us do so with the faith that evil will not have the last word, and with the resolve to be brighter lights than ever before. The gates of hell will not prevail (Matthew 16:18).
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