Powerful, insightful words from my son-in-law, Forest McCollough—
The murder of Charlie Kirk hit me in a way nothing else ever has, and I think other people are feeling the same thing.
I have heard people say that he is a martyr – and I completely agree with that. A martyr is someone who is killed for what they believe. I have heard people say that the reason this hit so hard is because it was a direct attack on free speech.
People are sensing that this is somehow different than a political assassination. If you’re the president, there are other world powers that have motive to take you out for political reasons. If you’re just a normal guy with no political office, it’s different – it’s a clear attack on the right to free speech. And I agree with all of this – but I think it’s so much deeper.
A martyr is someone who is killed for their beliefs, but those beliefs could be anything. Charlie Kirk wasn’t killed for just any belief. Charlie Kirk was killed for his belief in the truth of the Bible. I think the reason this is so different from anything I have ever experienced is because he wasn’t just killed for speaking his mind, he was killed for speaking THE truth.
I believe that everyone should have the right to speak what they believe, and I believe it is evil to kill anyone for speaking what they believe, but when someone who believes false things is murdered, it doesn’t ignite revival. It’s a tragedy, but the world moves on. In the case of Charlie Kirk, the world is not moving on. There has been revival lit in my heart, and I believe in the hearts of millions more around the world.
In the book of John, Jesus is telling his disciples about why he must die, and he says this: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:23-24
I have so often read the parables of Jesus as only pertaining to Jesus himself, or only pertaining to specific events, but the more I read the more I see how the truth of these parables permeates everything in the universe that God has created.
The tragedy of Charlie Kirks death is heartbreaking. It is hard to imagine the pain that his wife and kids are and will suffer. But Charlie Kirk was more than just a man, he had the spirit of God living in him. It was this spirit that compelled him to live his life to speak the truth. The spirit of truth itself. The same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead. And when you try to kill the spirit of God, The Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, you find out that the opposite happens.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
I have heard so many people make statements about the impact that Charlie Kirk will continue to have after he is gone. I have heard people say that the killer may have put out Charlie’s candle, but a million more candles have been lit. His wife said, talking to the people of Satan’s army, that they have no idea what they have unleashed. I myself have felt a fire and conviction that I have never felt before. Many of my friends and family members share the same feelings. I have heard people say that this is a turning point for America. That this is what is going to wake people up and give them the conviction and boldness to stand firm on the truth.
I believe this to be true: Satan tried to kill God’s spirit by killing Charlie Kirk, but when a man of God is killed for his faith, God’s spirit will come alive and produce more fruit than ever before.
There is a verse that has been on my mind since the day Charlie Kirk was killed:
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25
Charlie Kirk was willing to give his life for the truth. Am I willing to give mine?
This saying by Jesus is found in all 4 of the gospels, and in some of them more than once.
- “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
- “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25
- “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:35
- “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Luke 9:24
- “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” Luke 17:33
- “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25
I read each of these chapters the other day, and as I read the passage in Luke 17 that contains this verse, I was struck by a new and deeper understanding and conviction about what God is telling me in this passage.
The entire passage is Luke 17:20-37 if you want to read it.
In this passage, Jesus is asked about the coming kingdom of God, to which he responds “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
He then goes on to tell them what it will be like when the Son of Man is revealed, and He compares it to the day when God saves Noah from the flood and when God saves Lot from the destruction of Sodom.
As I read this passage, the first thing I was struck by was the clarity of the gospel:
God judged the world with a flood, but He saved Noah.
God judged Sodom and Gomorrah with fire, but He saved Lot.
God put the judgement of the world on Jesus and allowed him to be nailed to a cross and buried in the ground. Jesus did not stay in the ground, but if you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re willing to lose your life as he did, your judgement stays buried forever.
But then Jesus says this: “Remember Lot’s wife.”
And this is the question I was confronted with: Will I be like Lot’s wife? Will I look back and try to preserve my old life as God casts judgement on the world?
Noah was brought through the flood on the ark. Lot was brought out of the city by the angels. We are brought safely through God’s judgement by following Jesus in death. But will we be like Lot’s wife? Will we look back and try to preserve our old life?
I think the death of a Christian martyr confronts our souls with the same question we are confronted with when Jesus invites us to lay down our lives and follow him. The martyr is not Jesus, but his death is a reflection of what Jesus did. He stands on the truth, and is killed because the world hates the truth. But if you try to kill the Sprit of Truth, it is only magnified.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
The question for us is this: What kind of soil is my soul. Is my soul good soil that will produce 100 fold, or is it bad soil that will produce nothing.
I believe the murder of Charlie Kirk is a reflection of the hatred that the world has for the truth, and that the revival that it has sparked is a reflection of the resurrecting power of the Holy Spirit. This is not an arbitrary event. The conviction that we feel is not a fleeting emotion fueled by anger. Rather, it is the stirring of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Truth. The Spirit that can never be killed. The Spirit of resurrecting power. The Spirit that bears the most fruit just when Satan thinks he has won a victory.
Kim Jaggers Ministry 