Last Wednesday I lost a brother who I never met and who never heard my name. But he is eternally my brother, and I mourn his loss.

I cannot begin to imagine the pain his wife and family face, and we pray for their comfort.

Tragically, Christ warned that this is what you sometimes get when you turn your back to the world, trust in Him to forgive and save you from your sin, take up His cross, and follow Him. On one hand, you get a family spanning the globe, but you might also pay a price. Paul wrote that in the midst of the war raging in the spiritual realm, for Jesus Christ’s sake,

“we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” (Romans 8:36).

Though most of us never met Charlie Kirk, we still grieve deeply. That is what family does.

Such suffering by Christians has been and is still common in other parts of the world, so we should not be surprised that it has come here. Charlie is certainly the most notable Christian martyr in the United States since the nation’s founding. As so many have said,

“We are all Charlie Kirk.”

If you do not know Christ, this brotherhood will likely be foreign to you, and you do not know what you are missing! The “Brotherhood” of Christ may be costly, but it is worth it. Jesus addressed this reality during His earthly ministry. He noted in Luke 14 that if you desire to be His disciple you ought to first consider whether you are willing to pay the price. It may be great.

He said elsewhere that if we seek to save our lives we will lose them, but if we are willing to let our lives go, for His sake, we will save them eternally! Following Christ puts you in conflict with the world order and this world’s present master, Satan. Dietrich Bonhoeffer suffered the same fate and addressed the risks of following the One the world hates most in his 1938 book, “The Cost of Discipleship.”

As I consider the significance of these events I am reminded of King David’s poignant response to the murder of his appointed General, Abner, in II Samuel 3:39. He lamented,

“Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?”

Indeed, a great man has fallen in America, having died for his faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.

What transpired in Utah last Wednesday was far more than a good man dying at the hands of an evil man. It was the assault of a rebel and a rebellious culture against the Creator Father God who Charlie Kirk served; and make no mistake, He takes note of such things! When you assault a father’s child, you have touched the apple of his eye! And this Father is the quintessential Father.

Such is serious business!

I am no different than all of you who were stunned by this atrocity. My wife and daughter wept, and I burned in anger, as I expect you did as well. But we are limited by our Heavenly Father to justice, and justice alone. Our hands are tied; and we know that even though they convict the man who did this deed, and justice is served, and his life is forfeited, we will feel cheated.

Justice alone doesn’t satisfy. Our passion cries for more. But let me remind you that Our Father is of a different spirit. He provides two options to this person and to all sinners, for that matter: First, forgiveness through grace and forgiveness, or second, if grace is rejected, the wrath of a Father whose well-loved son has been slain.

“’Vengeance is Mine,’ saith the Lord. ‘I will repay.’”

Yes,

“it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”

We must rest in the fact that God is perfectly good and precisely just.

You and I, if you are a believer, are called to a similar heart and mind. Christ said,

“do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Someone has well said that an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth lead to a sightless, toothless world. It is not the spirit of Christ, and it is what sets true Christians apart from imitators and the opposition. The total lack of reprisals by Christians after Charlie’s murder underscores this fact.

Ironically, it is the sheep-likeness of God’s family that often leads to their being persecuted!

Mark Twain noted that

“there is nothing more irritating than a good example.”

A typical “Twainism.” Profound truth wrapped in humor. I would suggest that good examples, such as Charlie Kirk, may well be the greatest offense possible to our opponents, the cultural Left. To those who glory in drawing crooked lines, the only line you cannot draw is a straight line; and Charlie was adept at drawing very straight lines!

But he did it graciously and magnanimously!

Some have suggested that his, “prove me wrong” challenge appeared arrogant, and was unkind. Most of us considered it a simple challenge, and, in fact, saw it also as a nod to the notion that he was open to the possibility of being wrong. Charlie had no unexamined opinions. It was unlikely anyone would catch him unprepared.

There is a great divide in America today, between, for lack of a simpler nomenclature, the Right and the Left.

The Right holds that there is a God to whom we all must submit, while the Left denies such, and sees each individual as a god to himself.

The Right seeks a common moral culture based upon eternal principles as expressed in the Bible while the Left declares that there are no absolutes and demands that we all instead bow at the feet of secularism. In their worldview each person determines his or her own “truth” and reality.

It is a perfect recipe for conflict, destruction, and death, and it is one reason why Charlie opposed it.

He, like other biblical Christians, promoted the disciplines that support life, and the best life at that! But every discipline, whether spiritual, athletic, artistic, or intellectual generally costs something and may even be painful. That is part of the rub.

The Leftist indoctrinators have misinformed an entire generation to believe that they “deserve” every desire of their hearts simply because they exist, and they are the only judges of morality. If they don’t receive everything they “deserve” or desire NOW, some “hater” is to blame!

Such is a gross and debilitating lie.

Add to this, Charlie was pro-life and avidly so. He understood that every one of us imposes upon others throughout our lives, at times in costly ways. That is as it should be and is not to be shirked.

He, and all of us who are pro-life, believe that that sacrifice is a worthy one to make, even, or especially for those who are totally dependent upon others. Being burdened by others, as irritating as it may appear, actually returns a great reward. We were created to serve and in it find joy!

Charlie also knew, as all conservatives know, that nothing is really free. “Free Sex” is not free. Children pay for it. Divorce? Yeah, the children pay for that too. And what about gambling? It’s the children again who pay for that, and every day on America’s streets it’s largely children who are paying for the nation’s careless attitude regarding dangerous drugs.

Therefore, Charlie strongly opposed these things he believed caused suffering or loss to people, especially children, whether immediately or in their future. In a time when personal autonomy is worshipped, his criticism was often met with anger.

Personal autonomy now trumps everything including life itself. But Charlie accepted the proposition that while Truth and reality may be painful and confrontational, to ignore them or deny them carried a horrific price. The death toll among America’s youth over the last few years supports his allegations. He lived out the biblical truth,

“faithful are the wounds (inflicted by) a friend.”

A true friend is more concerned about your wellbeing than your favorable opinion of him.

Friends close to Charlie noted that he was hated because he was an effective communicator. And that he was, but it was not simply because he was so effective that they hated him. It was because he was an effective communicator of Truth! And nothing is hated today more than Truth. But he was more than just a skillful debater. He had Truth while his opponents had mere name-calling, platitudes and emotions.

These are no match for Truth!

Because of their disdain for Truth, the Left, contrary to their claims, has little interest in a discussion. As Charlie was wont to say,

“prove me wrong!”

Ironically, it is when conversation ends that violence often begins. Charlie Kirk had a profound love of conversation and communication. He was comfortable in it and excelled at it. The Left hated him for it as he adeptly exposed the vacuity of their reasonings.  In simplest terms, they killed him because they could not refute him.

There are only two types of “weapons” available to those who do battle: the pen and the sword. Those of us who subscribe to a biblical Christianity appreciate the axiom,

“the pen is mightier than the sword.”

The pen and the word of God are the “weapons of our warfare,” as the Apostle Paul wrote. But what is a political movement that scorns God to do when they discover that their pen is without ink?

What do they have but the sword? What they ought to do, of course, is to consider why their pen is dry, and why they are unable to provide a salient argument for their positions and maybe abandon them for better ones.

Every person should enter a debate with the self-awareness, “I could be wrong.”  Such a humble spirit would temper our national conversation greatly. If you cannot win the argument, then you do not win. Period. Anyone who will not accept that premise must be rejected by all parties.

We all, leftists and conservatives, know that every movement springs from ideas. If one’s ideas cannot bear honest scrutiny are they worthy of support? I think not. Emotions are important but are too fickle to be the foundation of any important political or cultural movement.

Christianity is the “Religion of Love,” and real love will be tough when necessary. Recalcitrance in an adult is no better than it is in a child. And if a child must be corrected for dangerous behavior, how much more an adult, if you care for him?

Such is the mark of genuine love. It warns of dangers even if the warning is unheeded and the messenger hated. How often as a child did it run through my mind that my parents did not love me because they would not allow me certain things. With age and wisdom, I now understand and appreciate their rules.

My life has been infinitely better because of them.

Charlie at a young age got all this, and he welcomed scrutiny by all!

He merely loved-God and people-and chose to risk loving those who hated him, just as God does.

Like Father, like son!