It was a lovely, warm evening in beautiful La Herradura, Spain.
My husband and I were enjoying a fantastic meal in a restaurant. We were enjoying the sea view, the food, and our wonderful, loving time together on the Costa Tropical. Our first real holiday abroad together, and for my husband, it had been about ten years since he’d even been abroad.
We’d just finished our main course when I received a WhatsApp message from my eldest son about a news report: “Charlie Kirk shot, in critical condition.” We were terrified and opened the link to the news report. In shock, we tried to savor our meal, waiting to hear what the next news item would be and silently praying for his recovery.
The next message quickly followed: “Charlie Kirk has passed away!” Time stood still for a moment, and I hastily opened Instagram, hoping to find messages that would reveal something else. But no… Instagram exploded, and everywhere we looked, everything pointed to his passing.
One Spirit
I was devastated. My husband was devastated, and this gripped us deeply for the next few days. I didn’t understand why I was so upset—no offense, but hadn’t famous people from home and abroad passed away before? Which was also very bad, of course, but this was different. It hit me hard; we both were genuinely very up sad.
Until we finally realized: even though we didn’t know him, even though he was a complete stranger to us in “real life” on the other side of the world, he was still a brother in Christ! A brother! Also, a member of the body of Christ; in Him, we are united. Unite in one Spirit.
The Scriptures also say, When one member suffers, we all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26). And that’s what we experienced
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”- 1 Corinthians 12:26
Someone who loved our God with all his heart, proclaimed the truth and the gospel with boldness and love, and was a husband and young father is suddenly taken from this life. While our hope and comfort is that he is with the Father, in a much better place than ever before, a void remains for us. A gaping hole in society.
Grateful
After a while, I got over the initial shock and tried to find something positive in the whole thing. First, I was grateful that he had dedicated himself so much to the gospel and the truth. I was grateful that God had used him so powerfully and that there are hundreds, thousands of videos of him proclaiming the truth and love of Jesus, so that his voice will continue to echo here on earth for eternity.
I was grateful to God that these videos had also reached my children, thus proclaiming the gospel to them as well. God was reaching them not only through us, but also through his videos on social media. I was especially grateful that his videos had inspired my oldest son. When I asked him during a relaxed conversation at the kitchen table months earlier, “What inspires you?” he replied, “The old days… as Charlie Kirk often explains in his videos,” and then went on to mention all sorts of norms, values, and biblical principles within the family.
Another lesson I tried to take from the whole thing was to stop holding back once and for all! I wanted to get out more, speak the truth even more, and be even more bold! This is how he is an example for us: engaging in conversations with people, showing more of Jesus and less of ourselves, LOL. Just do it; don’t wait, but now, today!
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:10
I want to encourage you to follow the example of our brother in Christ. What he did, we can do too. In the strength of the Lord, for in our weaknesses, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
