Honoring Charlie Kirk

I was asked by one of Charlie Kirk’s dearest friends to write a tribute to him – something a bit difficult to do since I never personally met the man, myself.

Nevertheless, I do feel as if we were acquainted, after having watched hundreds of his clips, many which included his defense of Israel, the place that Charlie loved and revered.  

Reacting to those short reels, I would sometimes verbally record the names of Jewish holidays or Hebrew words, asking his friend, Greg to forward those on to him, so that he would say them correctly in future broadcasts.

But whether he did or not, Charlie’s heart was all in for Israel, something which was so evident each time one of his questioners would do their best to entrap him in an anti-Israel web of deceit. 

In fact, Charlie could usually anticipate the framing of what was about to be said, even before it was voiced. He knew the spirit of each person, a gift which would prepare him for the best answer he could give in response.

Often letting his audience know that he was autodidactic (self-learned), never having earned a college diploma, Charlie seemed to have embodied Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”  

It often amazed me how he was so educated on such a vast variety of subjects, able to spout off a wealth of information which so many of us don’t know. Who has that kind of knowledge at their fingertips other than Google?

As we are all shocked to the core about this latest senseless murder of a beautiful soul, so much of what has been said about him on Fox News, where he often appeared, seems to capture the real essence of the man.  

Conservative podcaster and media personality, Patrick Bet-David, said he was a combination of Billy Graham and Rush Limbaugh all rolled into one – unashamedly sharing his personal faith while championing the right of free speech and the exchange of ideas.

It's astounding that his death closely coincides with the remembrance of 9/11 – a day when America mourns the tragedy of a vicious attack which attempted to take down the best of Western society and its freedoms by abruptly invading their way of life.  

Although those terrible events happened some 24 years ago, today, we mourn the loss of a man who also represented the best of the American way of life.  

Bet-David went on to say that it was those things for which Charlie stood that caused him to die by an assassin’s bullet. And while his voice has been silenced, the impact Charlie made, especially, on the youth of America, will not be muzzled. If anything, it will likely be amplified louder than ever before.

But if we have learned anything from this unspeakable event, it is that there is a deep sickness which has fallen over humanity – not even contained to one continent, but most especially pronounced in the profoundly shocking changes which have taken hold of America over the past few decades.

Those stark differences were, perhaps, a great part of the motivating factor which led Charlie Kirk to devote his life to reaching America’s youth at a tender age, helping them to think rationally and critically. 

Able to cut through the catchy slogans and social media propaganda, which were often regurgitated by these young people, Charlie would get them to think about consequences, meanings, definitions and so much more.

It wasn’t a rare occurrence that those engaged in these discussions with him were left speechless, unable to defend their original claims by which they had hoped to best him, but never could.

In his ability to get them to think, it was clear that Charlie was making real inroads into changing hearts and minds – a very scary proposition for the enemies of free thought and the exchange of ideas.

It was clearly the reason that he was viewed as, perhaps, the greatest threat of our time, because Charlie offered hope, clarity and a return to the timeless American values, whose foundations come from the scriptures. Those were the powerful weapons which Charlie Kirk possessed, as he joyfully traveled throughout the country, doing the thing he loved most.  

Honoring him is easy, because his short-lived life of 31 years was one of well-spent days which made the greatest impact on the people of America. It must have been, because how many are honored in death by the White House flag being flown at half- mast for four days?

The assassination of Charlie Kirk stands as an indictment and a chilling reminder of the downfall of America, having happened at what is said to be one of the safest places in the country. Only a few weeks ago, another quaint town, Charlotte, NC was the site of the tragic death of a beautiful young Ukrainian woman, who sought refuge from her war-torn country, in what she believed to be the safe shores of America. 

There, while sitting on a train, she was bludgeoned to death by a crazed lunatic who had been permitted to walk the streets freely by liberal judges who refused to recognize the threat he posed to the public.

America is, indeed, sick.  Whether it is a terminal illness or not, depends on the actions of her citizens. What better time than this sorrowful moment of cataclysmic disaster, to search into our collective and singular souls to see who we have become, apart from the loving hand of our Creator.

Such a needed accountability has never been more warranted than now and an act which would best honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk, a man who literally laid down his life for the cause of truth, goodness and the pursuit of godliness.

It didn’t have to be like this, but once America chose the path to walk away from its biblical origins, the predictability of depravity and chaos was sure to characterize the once Godly nation, which started out each day with school prayer but no longer does.

Abandoning those principles has brought us to this day where we not only mourn the death of a fine man, but the death of our own innocence. Thank God for Charlie Kirk who has brought forth that message even from the grave which yet awaits him.

Resting in his eternal home, Kirk’s message to all of us is to return to the God of our fathers, to reach a lost world with the love and truth of our Maker, who has given us the best blueprint for how to live well. And what better example do we have than the life of Charlie Kirk.

May you rest peacefully in the arms of your loving Master!