The Gospel on Display Through Erika Kirk

From the moment she stepped onto the platform, every one of the 100,000-plus in attendance and the millions watching online could sense the supernatural strength that carried Charlie Kirk’s widow to deliver her remarks at the service in memory of her late husband. Every step to the podium, every gesture, every word felt too heavy for ordinary human skill. She needed help from above. And that is precisely what she got.

But the most amazing thing is that the whole world stood as witnesses. If you have not watched it, please take the time to consider it. This is no ordinary speech.

We didn’t get to hear the most impactful thing about the speech. That prayer you could see her make as she prepared to speak—that moment between God and daughter—carried the whole thing through to completion.

God stood at the center of it all. Not Charlie. It is how Charlie would have wanted it. From the beginning, she quoted one of her husband’s favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 6:8, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” Charlie spoke about it as he spoke about his submission to the Lord at a rally, while quoting it. She recalled how she cautioned him, “God will take you up on that.”

Erika understands God is sovereign over all things. He is at work in all things. Even through this most sour experience for her and her family. “Over these past 11 days, through all the pain, never before have I found as much comfort as I now do. And the words of our Lord’s prayer: ‘Thy will be done.’ God’s love was revealed to me on the very day my husband was murdered.”

Her faith in the Lord gives her a holy perspective. “One moment, Charlie was doing what he loved—arguing and debating on campus, fighting for the Gospel. Truth in front of a big crowd. And then he blinked. He blinked and saw his Savior in Paradise. And all the heavenly mysteries were revealed to him.”

That is not a pablum for the Christian. It is the truth of the Gospel. It is a great reality. For us, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). We “do not grieve as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Erika spoke directly to those who, as a result of the tragedy, “open[ed] a Bible for the first time in a decade …, people [who] pray[ed] for the first time since they were children …, people [who went] to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.”

The seed has only just been planted. The enemy will tempt you the most in a time like this one. God will always be there for you. But you must choose to mark your soul again and again in the direction of Christ. 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. Being a follower of Christ is not easy. It’s not supposed to be.

Did I mention this was no ordinary memorial speech?

Erika celebrated her husband’s godliness above all. She challenged young men, as her husband did, to live out their leadership role with holiness and humility. She said, “Be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home. But please be a leader worth following for your wife. Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh. Working together for the glory of God.”

She challenged women, too. “Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God’s design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers. We are the preservers. Guard your heart. Everything you do flows from it. And if you’re a mother, please recognize that is the single most important ministry you have.”

But the power from where she spoke came to life for everyone to see, as she embodied the Gospel while speaking of her husband’s dream to reach young men:

My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man … On the cross, our Savior said, “Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.” That man. That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love.

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: the forgiveness of our sins, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is foolishness to the world, but it is the power of God for those who are being saved (see 1 Corinthians 1:18). It was the strength of the Gospel that, amazingly, led Erika to forgive the man who killed her husband.

The Spirit of God gave her the strength to say those words out loud in front of millions of people, including her children, and the assassin himself. There was no dry eye for those hearing with ears to hear.

I know some don’t care to listen. They have made up their minds about Charlie Kirk, and by extension, his wife. If you are one such person, know this: we are praying for you. That is all. If you know such a person, do the same.

Choose the path Charlie wanted to lay out for America. Choose to walk as Erika commended, as she finished her remarks. “Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ.”

Amen.