…hated because he unmasked a culture drunk on lies.
I am the empty chair at the dining room table. I am the plate no longer set, the voice no longer leading the family in prayer before the meal. I am the keys that will no longer jingle at the door, and the laughter that will never again echo when the children run to greet their father. I am the screwdriver left in the garage for the cabinet that needed fixing, the coffee cup chipped at the rim and left on the counter, waiting for a hand that will not lift it. I am the goodnight prayer that will not be mumbled, and the “I love you” not whispered in the dark. I am the tie that will never knot, the razor that will not be steadied on a boy’s chin. I am the hard pass in the yard that will never be caught and the proud grin of a son that will never again be mirrored by his dad. I am the arm that will never wrap around a daughter, the hand that will never be offered on her wedding day. I am the Bible ribbon left in the Psalms, and the “Amen” that came after the reading of Scripture. I am the pew…with one empty space. I am the anniversary reminders that will stay pinged on a calendar no one will delete. I am the husband’s glance across the room and the years of joy and embrace cut short in a moment of rage.
Charlie Kirk is forever immortalized on the internet. His children will come to know something of their father’s worldview and his value system there. His words will scroll forever on timelines with his debates countlessly replayed, and his speeches clipped. But so will his death. The man, however…the father and husband…is gone. His wife and children will go on, but the life they shared with him is now a memory. Their laughter may still echo in the house, but never again in his ears.
From where I stand, the internet has become a magnifier of sin. Consider its hot takes, slander, and dehumanization, and how easy it has become to justify violence when we strip away the humanity of those we oppose. Even in his death, the world will not let Charlie rest. The headlines call him “far-right,” as if the slander of a label could explain away his murder. Charlie was no extremist. His convictions resonated with ordinary families, workers, and believers which were shared by more than half the country.
When I look at Charlie, I see a man who took the wisdom of another like Thomas Sowell and put it in the hands of young people. I see a man who attempted to integrate his Christian worldview into the larger body politic. I see a man who sometimes was flawed in his method, but aren’t we all? I see a man who insisted that freedom was impossible without virtue, that life was sacred, and that truth does not bend to the fashion trends of culture. I also see a man who was hated because he unmasked a culture drunk on lies. To put it simply, he was hated because he was effective (John 3:19-20).
The Culture of Death
You see, a culture that kills its children in the womb cannot abide someone who names it murder. A culture that blesses deviancy and celebrates confusion cannot endure someone who says God made us male and female. A culture that crowns the self as sovereign will always crucify those who proclaim Christ as Lord. At the end of the day, this is not about politics. This is about the culture of death laid bare for all of us to see… live. The culture of death begins with the womb, where life is discarded for convenience. It continues in the classroom and on the screen, where confusion is called freedom and rebellion progress. It ends in blood on the ground and empty chairs at the dining room table, and children robbed of their fathers.
The Bible teaches that blood always speaks. Abel’s blood cried out from the ground for justice. The blood of Charlie Kirk cries out too, along side the blood of the innocent woman on a Carolina train. Every life defaced by evil cries out to God. Yet, there is a blood that speaks a better word than all of these, namely, the blood of Christ (Heb. 12:24). His blood does not only demand justice but secures mercy, righteousness, and resurrection.
The Church must rise… but not with slander or violence. It must rise with repentance and unshakable courage and an extremely stubborn hope. We answer lies with truth and hatred with holiness, despair with resurrection joy. In a world that exalts death, we will build households of life and speak the gospel without shame to our children as well as others around us. We will live as those whose King has conquered the grave, because He has.
