Thank You, Charlie!

 

Thank you, Charlie!

        Thank you, Charlie Kirk, for your leadership. Thanks for your bravery and your kindness. Thanks for how kindly you treated people in debates and for being a great listener. Thanks for going onto college campuses and inspiring young people to follow God and to serve others.  Thanks for showing the power of reason, persuasion, and common sense.  And what godly wisdom looks like.  Thanks for your example for all of us. And most of all, thanks for your clear witness for Jesus—for being a truth seeker and teller.

        We mourn alongside your wife and kids this morning.  It hurts.  It's so horrible to see what was done to you.  We are sad and we are angry, with a righteous anger that seeks to protect others from evil and to stand for what is good.

        We need many, many more men like you, Charlie. And, God willing, many will step up to fight well for freedom and truth, for our God, our families, and our countries.

        We see in Scripture the truth that we are in a constant battle against evil (Ephesians 6:10-18). That’s as plain as day. And we see that speaking the truth is often unpopular both within the church and outside it. Good people can be led astray by hypocrisy. Yes, even men of faith, like Peter and Barnabas, needed to be held accountable (by Paul) when they became tangled up in the pressures of the world and legalism, and following the crowd (Galatians 2:14). 

        Thank you so much for your witness, for being like Paul - unafraid and willing to stand up, in love, to tell the truth.

        Charlie, you showed incredible bravery. And you led with joy. You could tell that you loved people as Jesus loves all of us; you loved people enough to tell them the truth.

        Rest in peace, Charlie. What an impact you made. May God hold and bless you, your wife, your children, and all of your family. And may we, your brothers and sisters in Christ, press on in Christ’s freedom, inspired by your faithfulness. Thank you.

        -David Bell