Martyred, Not Murdered

My four-year-old daughter, Nora, and I just took some time to walk a lap around our small, cedar vacation house near the Washington coast. We were looking for snails or slugs. Either would be fine and would make a good temporary pet, and would be housed in Nora's tiny, glass bottle, recently acquired at a souvenir shop. She had prepped the critter's stay with a few leaves and some grass. Any gastropod would have been fortunate for such accommodations. Alas, we did not find any snails or slugs this time, but there is always tomorrow.

Charlie Kirk's daughter is only one year behind Nora. She is three years old, and will likely have little or no memories of her father. There will be no trying again for slugs tomorrow for this girl and her father. The backyard adventures, little conversations, and prolonged, exaggerated hugs are all over. They don't get any more.

Charlie was killed today, violently and suddenly. His wife and two young children were left behind; his children now fatherless and his wife now a widow.
Even as I type this, there are many questions unanswered and details that have not been provided. The identity of the shooter is not yet public, for example. In the upcoming weeks, there will be article after article, video after video, all dissecting the incident, seeking to identify motives and get into the head of the shooter. In advance, I wish I had a nickel for every time the killer's "mental health" will be mentioned.

I am writing this short post right now to try and cut through all that (yes, I'm admittedly worked up and I don't know how collected my thoughts will come across).
Much of what you read in the weeks to come will be speculative garbage that does not get to the heart of the issue. I want to assert that, fundamentally, we already know what we need to know. I'll say it simply.

He was not a random target. He was not simply a casualty of politics.

Charlie Kirk was martyred.

Charlie Kirk was killed because he was courageously and effectively bringing truth to a deceived populace. He stood for what was good, and he believed in the principles and ethics that made America a wonderful country from the start. His truth often centered around commonsense issues, like the existences of two sexes, the dangers of Islam, and the freedom and opportunity capitalism brings. Where did all those ideas come from? Were they somehow separate from his broader worldview? Spend any amount of time researching Charlie, and the answer is an immediate and emphatic "no". Charlie Kirk was a Christian, and not just on paper. He pulled no punches in talking about his faith and the faith of our forefathers. Many of his events were centered around promoting biblical Christianity, and he often hosted (and was hosted by) other prominent, unashamed Christians.

To put it simply, Charlie Kirk was a Christian working to change the minds of America's youth toward what is true and right, and it was working. That's why he was killed, and that's why he will be memorialized as a martyr.

His Turning Point USA videos are nothing short of inspiring. Charlie frustrated his opponents to no end, but his tactics didn't include belittling. He didn't manipulate. He didn't lie. He didn't get mad and shout, or call names, and the like. He presented truth in a calm and collected way that always invited his opponent to consider their own worldview and see the flaws in it. Charlie did things right, and the wicked couldn't stand it. Because truth will ultimately shine forth, his enemies decided to destroy him rather than engage with him.

This is what happened to Charlie Kirk today, and this is a moment I will never forget.

But it's also a moment that shouldn't be wasted. Christian, stop and consider what I'm about to say. Today's events (and others like these events) are proving to us over and over that America is entering into a new and uncharted season in its history. The days of a so-called "congenial bipartisanship" are gone. Our nation is at a crossroads, and the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk is the latest dramatic proof. Let me say it again - Charlie was killed because he believed in sharing ideas through conversations, and his faith-fueled dialogues proved to be true and helpful to a nation searching for its identity. We expect assassination attempts on those guilty of war crimes, or mob bosses, or radical tyrants, but not conversationalists. But this is where our nation is right now.

Promoting the traditional family is considered radical. Saying out loud that homosexuality is destructive to a civilization is labeled hateful. Claiming that there is only one version of truth, and that it belongs to God is regarded as oppressive. And having meaningful, logical conversations on college campuses that might lead to 20-year-olds abandoning liberalism? That will get you killed.

Rise up, church. Now is not the top to privatize your faith. Now is not the time to keep your thoughts to yourself. Now is not the time "wait it out" and hope for a better tomorrow for the United States as you return to your couch or your phone.

May 50 men of equal zeal rise up to take Charlie's place. May we all learn from his courage. May all Christians take their faith as seriously as Charlie, and may we, like Charlie, carry our faith with us into the public square.

I, for one, am not interested in a weak, privatized religion that watches through the curtains while Satan's minions march into town and take over what was once so evidently blessed. If embracing a traditional, biblical Christianity in both private and public is considered radical, then consider me officially radicalized. I want to be like Charlie.

I hope you want to be like Charlie, too. Here's how:
Read the Bible. Believe it. Teach it to your children. Give yourself to a local church. Husband, wash your wife with the word. Wife, respect your husband and help him however you can.

Love your Savior and the country He has placed you in. Use your brain. Speak the truth. Invite enemies to the table, and cripple them with biblical common sense. Love your enemies enough to tell them they are wrong, and use whatever lawful resource you can to fight for the good of your people in your place. Advocate for the promotion of righteousness and the resistance of evil - not just in your heart or home, but in your county, state, and nation.

I thank God for Charlie Kirk, and I take comfort that, by now, he has heard the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Pray for his young children. Pray for his wife. Pray for America. Get radicalized. Get to work.