My soul resonated with much of the Charlie Kirk Memorial. Erika Kirk not only joined others in proclaiming the gospel, but she also lived it out, extending love and forgiveness to her enemies. That moment proved to be a welcome correction to the evangelical gospel that had begun to be blurred by the ethic of vengeance.
A Vengeful Gospel
As world become preoccupied with COVID, some of the more political voices within evangelicalism encouraged their fellow evangelicals to make allowances for those driven by hatred and vengeance. These political voices told evangelicals not to focus on the “what” of their actions but on the “why.” These evangelicals viewed the social unrest of the pandemic to be a legitimate currency of the marginalized who lacked all other means to enact just social change. These evangelicals condemned the throwing of bricks as a sin. But they also believed those who had failed to listen to the prior just complaints of the brick throwers were complicit in their crime. The brick was the last option and not the first. In other words, hurt people hurt people and those who committed the last hurt could not be expected to peacefully cohabitate with their communities or even their churches until those who committed the first hurt confessed their sin and made restitution. Until such time, those evangelicals who had been sinned against would continue to burn with anger as the personal ethic of love and forgiveness faded ever into the background of their thought.
Such discussions swirled around the Black Lives Matter’s protest as pastors called evangelicals to reflect on why those minority communities in Minnesota, Georgia, and elsewhere had been driven to violence. Evangelicals on the other side of the political aisle encouraged then church to reflect on the circumstances that had driven the men and women of January 6 to march on the U.S. Capital. Instead of encouraging those who had been wronged to embrace the personal ethic of forgiveness, both sets of political voices encouraged the church to understand the merits of the various protestors’ vengeance. Jesus’ words in Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” had begun to recede from the evangelical imagination. Though he is not an evangelical, I suspect President Trump’s words at Charlie’s memorial stilled reflected the feelings of many within the evangelicalism when he said: “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry…But I can’t stand my opponent.”
Erika’s Pure Gospel
In her speech, Erika Kirk directed the evangelical imagination back towards the gospel of peace. She did not ask those in attendance to empathize with her hatred for Charlie’s shooter who caused her soul to ache and her two precious children to be fatherless. She did not speak of vengeance at all. She did not hate her husband’s murderer.
She spoke of loving and forgiving her enemies. Reflecting upon Charlie’s life she said, “Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the Lost Boys of the West, the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith, and no reason to live…wasting their lives on distractions…men consumed with resentment, anger and hate. Charlie wanted to help them.” Charlie disavowed personal vengeance. Erika continued: “My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”
Then clinging to Charlie’s legacy and the gospel, she proclaimed, “That man. That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did…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.”
She forgave not because Charlie’s shooter had made restitution, admitted to his evil, or sought reconciliation. She extended forgiveness to him because she had been forgiven. As the apostle John notes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 Jn 4:10-11).” Erika championed the love and forgiveness of Jesus which is forever and always the individual Christian’s solution to sin – even to the greatest of sins such as murder which causes the soul ache until heaven. I am thankful that Erika clearly and resolutely shared and model a gospel uncluttered by vengeance at this crucial hour.
God Centered Political Action
This is not to say that there is not a place for justice and for conversations about political change. God ordained governments to hold sinners to account so that all might live in peace and safety. When governments fail to rule justly and when tragedies occur, righteous anger should drive Christians to engage the political process.
But righteous passion must never be divorced from the personal ethic of love and forgiveness. Evangelicals engaging in political discussions and activities should recognize that any person or group that is truly Christian or aligned with Christian principles will ultimately not lead its followers to demonize their opponents, to riot, or to make death threats but to share the gospel, to forgive sins, and to make peace both inside and outside the walls of evangelicalism. As President Trump noted of Charlie Kirk, “He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them.” In other words, holy anger produces not vengeance but men and women passionate to see the gospel of peace advance in their families, their churches, and their communities so that others may know Christ and experience the joy of following Jesus’ ethic. As the Reformer Martin Luther said, “anyone who claims to be a Christian and a child of God, not only does not start war or unrest; but he also gives help and counsel on the side of peace wherever he can.” Evangelical political action should be driven by and reflect Scriptural convictions. To quote Erika: “Pray again. Read the Bible again. Go to church next Sunday and the Sunday after that. And break free from the temptations and shackles of this world.” To put it simply, the love and forgiveness of Jesus always produce a personal ethic of love and forgiveness. James the brother of Jesus concurs writing, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (Ja 3:17-18).”
Final Thoughts
Charlie’s memorial beautifully reminded evangelicalism and the world that the gospel of love and forgiveness still works. The passion for change can and must cohabitate with the ethic of love and forgiveness. For that I am thankful. May love and forgiveness ever drive and shape the evangelical church and its political engagement.
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