I’m not much of a political person, and I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before the shocking news of his death hit the headlines last week. I still don’t feel qualified to say much about it, but I was amazed by two statements made at his funeral:
Firstly, Charlie’s wife, Erika said:
““My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That young man, that young man. On the cross, our Savior said: ‘Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.’ That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
The second statement that caught my attention was made in response by Donald Trump:
“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them, that’s where I differed from Charlie: I hate my opponents,”
Trump may have been speaking in jest, but these two statements make clear that we have a choice about how to respond to people who disagree with us, or harm us or simply hate us – and as Christians we are guided by the way Jesus Christ has treated us.
‘While were were still sinners… while we were his enemies… Christ died for us.’ (Rom 5:8-10)
Yours in Christ,
Ben
