“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” —Matthew 25:23 (NKJV).
When I woke up on Thursday 11 September, I wasn’t expecting to be met by the news that Christian political activist Charlie Kirk had been assassinated.
I knew something was wrong when Dad woke me up. If it had been Mum, I would’ve assumed I’d slept through my alarm again (it was a Thursday, so I’d only done that, like, twice that week). The last time Dad had roused me, it was to tell me that Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash.
He sat and explained that Charlie Kirk had been assassinated in Utah. My sleep-deprived brain worked overtime trying to make sense of his words, as the syllables bounced off my droopy eyelids like trampolines. Eventually I woke up enough to understand what Dad was saying… then I really understood what he meant.
I first found Charlie Kirk’s work circulating on TikTok and YouTube during the 2020 American election. For me, the “COVID season” was mainly identifiable by empty AFL stadiums and the “significant inconvenience” of wearing a mask when going for a walk. But over in the US, the world had collapsed into a state of callous, cultural chaos.
From COVID lockdowns to vaccine mandates, and Black Lives Matter rallies to political campaigns, it still ranks as the most fragile, venomous and erratic I’ve ever seen a western society turn in my lifetime.
I was desperate to find a voice that would bring clarity to the chaos. Someone who used their words and platform to cut down to the root issues, not just another opposing voice. Because more than anything, I was being affected by the hatred sprayed out from political commentators at anyone who dared to disagree with them.
And along came Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA with the goal of guiding young people into a future built on Faith, Freedom and Love of Country. He believed that when communication stopped, violence began. His mission was to bring back the lost art of debate into a nation full of hate.
He did this by entering university campuses and hosting “open mic” debates, where students of all walks of life could bring their queries, confusions, concerns, frustrations, doubts and opinions… and he would talk. Debate. Communicate.
What made Charlie stand out from the over-saturated market of political and cultural commentators was that he didn’t do it from a heart of hate. Unlike many others, his opinions weren’t planted in his own moral compass or feelings, but in the Bible. He wasn’t challenged by human opinions or media agendas but by the living God whom he had dedicated his life to serving.
It showed in the way Charlie saw people—friends, enemies, spectators, haters… EVERYONE! He saw them all as people made in the image of Christ. Because of this conviction, he never lied or fudged his opinions to avoid offending someone but spoke truth through the love of Christ. He truly cared about the souls of people… souls he knew were destined for hell, but whom Jesus died for just the same.
Fast forward five years—where Charlie had shifted from “the political guy on social media” to one of the top three most influential voices in my life—and I’m scrolling social media. My feed is no longer populated with his debates and college open mics, but with tribute posts and headlines announcing his murder.
I read each new report as though I’m living out a simulation, hoping that when I went to sleep that night, I’d wake up from this vivid but fictional nightmare. Soon enough it hit me… he was really gone.
I knew I should take time away from socials to grapple with what was going on, but I didn’t listen to myself. And what I doom-scrolled into was a full-circle moment. It turns out the assassination of a beloved political and religious figure can bring out the same chaotic culture that first made me cling to Charlie’s videos.
For every tribute by a grieving follower, there was a perverted response of joy and glee at his death. Because in the eyes of some, sharing different opinions is reason enough for someone to lose their life. And with every rage-inducing comment and every sick celebration I watched, I found myself gripped by the same spirit of hate I had first turned to Charlie Kirk to escape.
It truly messed with me to witness such a low in humanity. To see others celebrate the untimely death of someone—for what? Disagreeing with them politically? Sharing different religious values?
I was being controlled by this hate for society and disdain for people. Then, a thought came to me, one that took me a little while to grasp and consider:
If Charlie Kirk got the chance to debate his assassin—the very person who took his life for all the wrong reasons—what would he say? How would he treat the shooter, and all the people praising his actions?
It hit me: I don’t think Charlie Kirk would hate them as much as I did. Would he agree with their actions? Of course not. Would he give them a free pass because they had their feelings hurt? The exact opposite.
Charlie would see the evil driving their actions but disconnect it from the host body spewing the hate. I’d seen him debate people overrun with spite for him and his mission, but his goal was always to lead them, and everyone listening, to TRUTH.
The ultimate truth is that every person we encounter, from the best to the worst, is made in God’s image, with a life and soul so valuable that Jesus left his place in heaven and exchanged his royalty for their ruins—all for the grace-fuelled goal of having a relationship with them again!
As I scrolled through video after video of the hate-driven responses, I was reminded of Luke 23 and the story of Jesus being crucified. What struck me was the interaction between Jesus and the crowd. Here was the blameless Son of God, who had spent His ministry healing, saving, redeeming, freeing and helping the Jews. Yet the same people He saved were now crying out “crucify him!”. Even Pilate wasn’t interested in charging Him, but was overruled by the cries of the masses (Luke 23:13-25).
Through all the mocking and ridicule, hatred and sneering, Jesus had one response: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23:34 (NIV).
When I considered how undeserving Charlie Kirk was of the hate he received… how much less did Jesus deserve His? Even the criminal crucified next to Him identified the injustice of the situation (Luke 23:41). As I read this passage, a new appreciation and revelation of the overwhelming love and mercy of God was revealed to me.
In humanity’s darkest moment, Jesus was incapable of seeing them as anything but worthy of His love and grace. He saw them through the eyes of His Father, as the people He had called them to be.
This revelation has challenged me every waking moment since. I want to see people through the eyes of Jesus. Not for their mistakes and shortcomings, their guilt or pain, but for who Jesus has called them to be. I want their identity in Christ to be more real to me than anything my human eyes can see.
I believe revival can begin when we see the world through the eyes of Christ. And when that happens, nothing will stop us from sharing the gospel of Jesus with everyone that needs to hear it—which was the very heart that caused Charlie Kirk to begin Turning Point USA.
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Breakthrough Church