In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s tragic passing, moving forward means more than just healing—it’s about living out the radical love and grace Christ calls us to embody. While grief is natural and necessary, our response as believers is an opportunity to set a powerful example.
A Faith-Based Response to Tragedy and How We Can Continue to Love Others
The news hit like a lightning bolt across Christian communities everywhere. On September 11, 2025, Charlie Kirk, the young conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was tragically shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. At just 31 years old, Charlie left behind his wife Erika and two precious children, along with millions who followed his work and believed in his mission to engage young people with conservative Christian values.
For many of us in the faith community, this loss feels deeply personal. Charlie wasn’t just a political figure – he was a brother in Christ who boldly stood for biblical principles in an increasingly hostile culture. His death has left us wrestling with difficult emotions: grief, anger, fear, and profound sadness. Some of us may even feel like giving up on trying to reach others with different beliefs.
But as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to something higher. Even in our deepest pain, we must find ways to move forward with hope, grace, and an unwavering commitment to love – especially those who think differently than we do.
First, let’s acknowledge that what we’re feeling is completely normal and biblical. Grief is not a sign of weak faith – it’s a sign of love. When we lose someone who stood for the same values we hold dear, who gave voice to our deepest convictions, the pain runs deep.
The apostle Paul himself experienced profound sadness when he wrote to the Thessalonians about those who had died. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, he doesn’t tell us not to grieve. Instead, he says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Notice that Paul doesn’t say we shouldn’t grieve – he says we grieve differently because we have hope. Our sadness over Charlie’s death is a testament to how much his life and work meant to us. It’s okay to feel this pain. It’s okay to be angry about the senseless violence. It’s okay to feel afraid about what this means for other Christian voices in our culture.
Jesus himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus, even though He knew He was about to raise him from the dead (John 11:35). If our Savior grieved over the death of someone He loved, we can certainly grieve over the loss of a brother who stood boldly for truth.
Charlie Kirk’s life offers us a powerful example of how to engage with a world that often opposes our beliefs. Despite facing constant criticism, mockery, and even death threats, Charlie continued to speak truth with conviction while maintaining relationships across political and ideological lines.
In his final days, Charlie was still reaching out to young people, many of whom had never heard a compelling case for conservative Christian values. He went to college campuses – some of the most hostile environments for conservative speakers – because he believed in the power of respectful dialogue and the importance of planting seeds of truth.
This reminds us of Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” Charlie embodied this verse. He was ready “in season and out of season” to share what he believed, and he did so with remarkable patience, even when facing hostile audiences.
In the wake of this tragedy, we face a crucial choice. We can allow our grief and anger to harden our hearts against those who disagree with us, or we can choose the more difficult but more Christ-like path of continued love and engagement.
It would be easy to retreat into our own circles, to write off everyone who holds different political or social views as potential enemies. The temptation is strong to build walls instead of bridges, to assume the worst about those who celebrate different causes or vote differently than we do.
But this isn’t what Jesus calls us to do. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus gives us one of His most challenging commands: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This doesn’t mean we have to agree with everyone or compromise our convictions. It means we maintain our heart posture of love even toward those who oppose us.
Consider this: even Charlie’s alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is someone for whom Christ died. This young man, according to reports, had become increasingly political in recent years and had expressed dislike for Charlie and his viewpoints at family dinners. He made a terrible, evil choice that cost Charlie his life and devastated countless people. Yet even he is not beyond the reach of God’s grace.
This doesn’t minimize the evil of what happened. It doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be justice. But it does mean that our response should be shaped by the gospel, not by the world’s patterns of hatred and revenge.
So how do we move forward? How do we honor Charlie’s memory while maintaining our Christian witness in a world that seems increasingly divided?
Charlie’s greatest passion was engaging with young people and helping them think critically about the issues facing our culture. We can honor his memory by continuing these conversations in our own spheres of influence.
This might mean:
1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Notice that we’re called to be both prepared (knowledgeable and thoughtful) and gentle (kind and respectful).
One of the most powerful ways we can demonstrate Christian love is through radical hospitality – welcoming people into our lives and hearts even when they disagree with us. This doesn’t mean compromising our beliefs, but it does mean creating space for relationship and dialogue.
Jesus regularly ate with tax collectors, sinners, and even His betrayer. He maintained relationships with people whose lifestyles and choices He didn’t endorse. In Luke 19:1-10, we see Jesus inviting Himself to dinner at Zacchaeus’s house. The crowd grumbled that He was going to be the guest of a sinner, but Jesus saw an opportunity for transformation through relationship.
This might look like:
1 Timothy 2:1-2 calls us to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” This includes praying for leaders we didn’t vote for, policies we disagree with, and yes, even people who oppose us.
Prayer changes us as much as it changes our circumstances. When we regularly pray for those who disagree with us, it becomes harder to demonize them. We begin to see them as fellow image-bearers of God who need His grace just as much as we do.
Consider starting each day by praying for:
Perhaps the most powerful testimony we can offer is a life lived with integrity, love, and grace. People are watching how we respond to this tragedy. They’re observing whether our faith makes us more loving or more bitter, more gracious or more harsh.
Philippians 2:14-16 challenges us to “do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”
This means:
Many of us are not just sad about Charlie’s death – we’re also afraid. If someone as prominent and protected as Charlie Kirk could be killed for his beliefs, what does that mean for the rest of us who try to live out our faith in public?
This fear is understandable, but we cannot let it paralyze us or drive us to hatred. Isaiah 41:10 reminds us: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgment (2 Timothy 1:7). We can acknowledge the real dangers that exist while still choosing to live boldly for Christ.
This doesn’t mean being reckless or unnecessarily provocative. It means being wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). We can speak truth while also being strategic about how and when we do so.
For those of us with children, this tragedy raises difficult questions about how to help them process what happened while still encouraging them to engage with the world around them. Our young people are watching our responses and learning from them.
We need to help them understand that:
Evil is real, but God is sovereign. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. Charlie’s death reminds us that sin has real consequences, but it doesn’t mean God has lost control or that our faith is meaningless.
We can grieve without losing hope. It’s okay for our children to feel sad, angry, or scared about what happened. These are normal human responses to tragedy. But we can help them process these emotions through the lens of faith.
Our response matters. How we respond to this tragedy teaches our children about the character of God and the nature of Christian love. If we respond with hatred and bitterness, that’s what they’ll learn. If we respond with grief but also grace, they’ll see the power of the gospel lived out in real time.
God can use even terrible things for good. Romans 8:28 promises that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This doesn’t make Charlie’s death any less tragic, but it does mean that God can use even this for His purposes.
As we process our grief and determine how to move forward, it’s important to remember that Charlie’s death, while tragic and significant, is part of a larger story that God is writing. Throughout history, believers have faced persecution, violence, and death for their faith. The early church faced far worse conditions than we do today, yet Christianity not only survived but thrived.
Acts 8:1-4 tells us that after Stephen was stoned to death, “there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles… Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”
The persecution that was meant to destroy the church actually caused it to spread. What Satan intended for evil, God used for good. This doesn’t minimize the pain of Stephen’s death or make it any less tragic, but it does remind us that God’s purposes cannot be thwarted by human violence.
Charlie’s death has already sparked conversations about faith, politics, and civil discourse that might not have happened otherwise. His life and work will continue to influence people long after his death. In his final moments, he was doing what he loved most – engaging with young people and challenging them to think deeply about important issues.
As we work through our grief and seek to honor Charlie’s memory, here are some practical steps we can take:
As we move forward from this tragedy, we must resist the temptation to retreat from public engagement or to respond with the same hatred that took Charlie’s life. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to the challenging but essential work of loving our neighbors, even when they disagree with us.
This means continuing to vote according to our convictions while still treating those who vote differently with respect and dignity. It means standing firm on biblical principles while remaining open to dialogue and relationship with those who hold different views. It means being willing to admit when we’re wrong while not compromising on essential truths.
Charlie Kirk believed that ideas have consequences and that the gospel has the power to transform both individuals and cultures. His death reminds us that these battles are not just political or cultural – they are spiritual. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Tyler Robinson is not our enemy – he is a young man who was deceived by spiritual forces of darkness and made a terrible choice. Our real enemy is the evil that convinced him that violence was an acceptable response to ideas he disagreed with. Our fight is against the hatred, division, and despair that are tearing our culture apart.
In the midst of our grief and uncertainty, we cling to several unshakeable truths:
Jesus has already won. No matter how dark things seem, no matter how much violence or hatred we witness, the ultimate victory belongs to Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 declares, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Death is not the end. For believers like Charlie, death is simply a transition from this life to the next. 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Charlie is now experiencing the fullness of joy in God’s presence.
God’s purposes cannot be thwarted. Human beings may scheme and plan and even commit terrible acts of violence, but God’s plans will ultimately prevail. Isaiah 55:11 promises that God’s word “shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
We are more than conquerors. Romans 8:37-39 assures us that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As we conclude, let me leave you with both a challenge and a promise.
The challenge is this: Will we allow Charlie’s death to make us more like Christ or less like Him? Will we respond with the love, grace, and courage that characterized Jesus’ ministry, or will we retreat into bitterness and fear?
The promise is found in John 16:33, where Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy or safe. He never told us that we wouldn’t face opposition, persecution, or even death for our faith. But He did promise that He has overcome the world, and that His followers can take heart in that victory.
Charlie Kirk lived his life taking heart in that promise. He faced constant opposition, threats, and criticism, but he continued to speak truth with love and engage with those who disagreed with him. He believed that the gospel had the power to change hearts and transform culture, one conversation at a time.
Now it’s our turn to carry that torch forward. Not with hatred or bitterness toward those who think differently than we do, but with the same love, grace, and courage that Charlie demonstrated throughout his life.
In our sadness, let us choose hope. In our anger, let us choose love. In our fear, let us choose faith. And in our grief, let us choose to move forward with the confidence that Christ has indeed overcome the world, and that nothing – not even death – can separate us from His love.
Charlie’s earthly voice has been silenced, but the message he lived for – that every person is created in the image of God and deserves to hear the truth spoken in love – lives on. It lives on in each of us who choose to engage our culture with grace, to love our enemies, and to trust that God’s purposes will ultimately prevail.
May we honor his memory not by becoming like those who hate us, but by becoming more like the One who loved us enough to die for us, even when we were His enemies.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
