I just finished watching the end of the beautiful Memorial Service for Charlie Kirk with a high point: hearing the poignant and powerful tribute of his beautiful wife, Erika. She spoke of his many great qualities and the beautiful life they created but, more importantly, she spoke about his commitment to God, to Christ, to this nation and, not least, to his family. Her words (LINK):
Charlie died with incomplete work, but not unfinished business.
Would that we exit this life with our God-given missions in such a good state! If you haven’t seen the video I posted on YouTube last night, here’s the LINK where Charlie takes center stage, second only to our God and our Jesus. Here is the picture I put in that post, simple but oh so powerful to me:
See how Charlie’s inner light and glowing good health stand out from the background of the growing darkness in too many places in our world. He tackled that darkness head on, always dedicating his life to God’s work. I love how he quietly beckons listeners to hear his message and come, not to him but to God.
In our grief, many of us have theorized that he just got a different assignment in a different realm. But one friend of mine prayed about it and got this answer, which I share with her permission:
Yes, I was so despairing and asked during my prayers:
“Was this an act of evil without or with God’s permission?“
And the answer was clear that he has been called home.
That now, as a martyr,
his work will become a greater force spreading throughout the world.
And didn’t this happen almost immediately? Then look at the many thousands who attended his Memorial today, with TV and online viewers numbering who knows how many thousands?
Finally, I’d like to quote Pres. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, in his powerful message after he urged us to all take up the banner of truth wherever we are, saying:
We are ALL Charlie!
What a simple, but powerful way to fuel our own trajectory into braver, more eloquent, and far more frequent testimonies of Christ—and the Restoration that expands traditional Christian concepts of priesthood, covenants, and the call to gather scattered Israel. I think I’ll print a small copy of his picture with these words just below, frame it, and keep it on my desk as a solemn reminder of my promise to him and his family.
In my video, I was impressed by the Lord to pair him with another Christian (and Protestant) martyr, Lady Jane Gray, later called the 9 Day Queen in 1550’s England. She was only 17 when proclaimed the legal successor to the crown, bequeathed to her by the previous king, naming her in his will as successor. Mary 1, a zealous Catholic, prevailed on the Privy Council to proclaim her the next queen instead, which happened 9 days later. Jane was convicted of trumped-up charges of High Treason. Both she and her husband were executed. Sometime later, the absolute power of the monarch over life and death was outlawed, due in no small part to this travesty. Mary I carried on a vendetta against Protestants, going down in history as “Bloody Mary.”
This event was commemorated in the famous and oversized painting by Paul Delaroche, now hanging in the National Gallery in London. Here it is:
Notice the simple impact of color: black for the unyielding power of the State in a darkening world, red for the blood about to be shed, and white for innocence. Finally, notice the exposed necks of Lady Jane’s attendants, one from the front and the other showing the back, foretelling the gruesome event just ahead, all in the “language of art.”
As much suffering as these events cause, God means it all for good, when it’s about good people doing right. We have the comfort of knowing mortal life’s adversities are temporary and death holds no permanent power, as brilliantly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:55 and immortalized in Handel’s Messiah.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
As hard as it is to take the long view with our limited mortal sight, we must if we are to confidently tread the path to heaven and eternity where all sorrows will be healed, families reunited, and all sincere seekers are welcomed home!