By now, most of us would have heard about the shooting of a man named Charlie Kirk in the US. As the hours unfurled after that terrible event, you may also have noticed that opinions regarding Kirk have ranged from “This is wrong” to “He deserved it”. It seems strange that a murder in a public place could generate such differences in opinion.
Of course, our world is no stranger to controversy where human life does not seem as important as our own opinions. Only in April 2025, Luigi Mangione shot Brian Thompson, the CEO of an insurance company in cold blood. Not surprisingly, those who called it a murder and those who hailed it as an act of heroism have split the airwaves. Then in June 2025, two lawmakers, Melissa and Mark Hortman were murdered in their own home. Again, opinions regarding the tragedy of the murders were deeply divided because of what they believed and advocated.
Now in Utah, Kirk was characterized as a “right-winged Conservative supporter of Donald Trump who was an influencer among the younger generation.” According to popular media, he was anti-abortion, pro-gun, anti-black lives, and anti-gay, willing to go into every situation to speak to these hot button issues with clarity and intellect. Kirk was speaking at the Utah Valley University, a stronghold of liberal teaching; emblazoned all over the venue were banners that said, “Prove me wrong,” as an invitation to engage honestly with the issues raised. He was killed by a single bullet from a sniper. Unlike Thompson’s and the Hortmans’ murders, this one took place in broad daylight among a huge crowd of listeners. But not unlike these previous murders, the opinions regarding whether he was deserving of the bullet that took his life is still a matter hotly discussed.
As I read the Bible, I am struck by several things. First, murder is always a sin (Exodus 20:13). It leaves a trail of devastation; it promotes an avalanche of anger. There is nothing that excuses murder. It is an instrument of Satan whose modus operandi is to kill, to steal and to destroy. In the end it is God’s laws that are certain; our opinions are but the wind. Second, judgment comes from God and not from us (Romans 12:19). We may dislike what someone says or does, but it is God, not us, who bears the sword. In Kirk’s case, he certainly said many things that are true but he may have been lacking in grace. His daring challenge for people to “prove he is wrong” often goes unanswered because of the veracity of his arguments, but he may have lacked in showing love where his intellect was strong. In the end, how he conducted himself is a matter of discussion; what the shooter did is a matter of God’s judgment. And third, to add to the second thought, the lesson of Kirk’s life and death teaches us never to shrink back in speaking the truth, but to always do so with a spirit of grace.
But did he show grace? Unreported in the secular media is the fact that Charlie Kirk was a committed believer in Christ. While the news may declared that he was answering a question about gun control when he was shot, the truth is that he was speaking about what it means to live for Christ seconds before he was killed, taking his text from 2 Corinthians 5:15, “and Jesus died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” Who was killed that day in Utah? Satan would have us believe that he was a graceless supporter of Trump who stood against modern thinking. I think that it is a voice of a believer who Satan could not answer. In the end, I hear the Spirit of Christ say to Charlie Kirk, “You have served Me well. Welcome into the joy of My rest.”
Just Church
At Just Church, let’s make proclaim Christ in truth and love. “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
