Politics is not our religion. God is our Savior.
It was exactly what was called for. Even as impossible as it seems.
Charlie Kirk was killed by a deeply troubled young man. And during her remarks during his memorial service at a packed State Farm Stadium in Arizona — attended by tens of thousands of people, including Donald Trump and his Cabinet — Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow and his successor as president and CEO of Turning Point USA, forgave the killer.
That’s what Charlie, if he remained consistent with what he said during his life, would have done. Because that’s what Jesus does. He forgives us our trespasses. No matter how evil and how pathetic. If we ask Him, His mercy is ours. He wants to give it to us. We don’t deserve it. But He loves us that much. And Erika Kirk longs to love like Christ. So even if it feels impossible — it has to — she forgives.
Erika Kirk’s words were beautiful and powerful.
They weren’t shocking, even though most of us probably can’t imagine ourselves having the strength and faith to do the same in such a horrific situation. She was already reminding us of when John Paul II forgave the man who shot him. Or, for New Yorkers, when Police Officer Steven McDonald forgave the man who shot and paralyzed him. Erika Kirk told Robert Draper in a New York Times interview:
“I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’ I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger. Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger. In the remarks at Charlie’s memorial, she said we need revival, not revenge.
Earlier, in fact, the memorial had been described as essentially a MAGA rally revival — more prayer and real surrender to the will of God is something that Charlie longed for at Trump rallies. (And he meant surrender, not manipulating God for ideology or political victory. He frequently talked about the eternal victory Jesus lived, died, and rose to give men.) At the memorial, politicians spoke about God — the newly named secretary of war, and all. Tucker Carlson declared himself the problem with the world — acknowledging his fallen nature and sinfulness.
When Erika took the stage, it wasn’t MAGA time. It was not a Trump rally. It was something purer and exponentially more important.
It was also a corrective — without being an explicit rebuke — to what White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller did earlier. He excoriated the Left, saying:
We stand for what is good, what is virtuous, what is noble. And for those trying to incite violence against us, those trying to foment hatred against us. What do you have? You have nothing. You are nothing. You are wickedness, you are jealousy! You are envy! You are hatred! You are nothing! You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing. We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity.
Miller said:
To our enemies, you have nothing to give, you have nothing to offer, you have nothing to share, but bitterness. We have beauty, we have light, we have goodness, we have determination, we have vision, we have strength. We built the world that we inhabit now.
Please, please, please share Erika Kirk’s words with people who do not like Donald Trump — who hate him. They are friends and family and maybe even are you. Insist on conversations about Erika Kirk’s word and witness. Schools should have discussions about this — especially in the wake of the murders at Annunciation School. Forgiveness is a miraculous choice that heals the human heart and our culture needs it desperately. It is what every cross on a chain is actually about. It is love. The most authentic love.
The night Charlie Kirk was murdered, I was not alone in watching video after video of Charlie Kirk videos and encounters. Many stood out — moments of humility and compassion, even in his courage and confidence in the truth he was speaking. In one, he talked about loving the lost.
He did not hate his opponent; he loved his opponent. Donald Trump even acknowledged it in his remarks, admitting that he cannot bring himself to be like Charlie in this way. He admitted Charlie might be right and might be mad at Trump from Heaven for saying so — and now Erika can work on him — but even Trump he saw it. And maybe even admired it, even if not enough to pray for the grace to do it.
Is there anyone more clearly lost than Charlie Kirk’s murderer, drowning in the darkness of an online world of hate and radical misery? Much of our media culture is too obsessed with tolerating every difference to see the obvious: Trans culture, such that it is, is torturing already confused young people. The isolation of online hate, kindling the flames of anger in a perverse sense of righteousness, is deadly. To oneself and to others. And to a country if it doesn’t fight back with truth in love.
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
That Biblical message — the Divine witness — was the takeaway from Charlie Kirk’s Sunday memorial. I just turned on MSNBC, and a panel is complaining about Donald Trump. They missed the miracle. They missed the moral of the story. They missed the headline. Erika Kirk forgives the young man who murdered her husband. This is better than anything politics or commentary can ever offer anyone. Rejoice in it. Follow where it leads.
The name of Jesus was mentioned many times at Kirk’s memorial. Aspects of the Gospel were unpacked. In the tradition and style of Billy Graham, people were invited to embrace Christ as their Savior. And then Erika Kirk showed us how the Christian life is done.
The beauty of Erika Kirk’s dedication to the Gospel is remarkable. It is God’s grace in action. It is what Christians are called to.
Politics is not our religion. God is our Savior.
And, as they say, He writes straight with crooked lines. He does not let suffering be wasted. He does not let evil prevail. Love wins. But it’s not a slogan or ideology. It is Divine. It requires sacrifice and surrender to a peace that does not come from this world, but from God Himself.
God bless and protect Erika Kirk and her family.