Is the Revival Following the Kirk Memorial Service a 'Turning Point' for the West?

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Sunday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk may have been the largest evangelistic event in human history. Not every speaker at the event was in tune with the Gospel, but those who were stated it clearly and boldly. Tens of thousands of people who attended live, along with millions who watched online, heard Chris Tomlin praise “the name above all names,” and Pastor Rob McCoy offer the invitation to accept Christ. And that was just the first half-hour. Before it was over, vice-president J.D. Vance talked publicly about his faith, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio beautifully summarized the entire Christian message in under two minutes. After describing the final moments of Kirk’s life, apologist and Kirk mentor Frank Turek stated bluntly, “Charlie is not in heaven because he sacrificed his life for Jesus. He is in heaven because Jesus sacrificed his life for Charlie.”  

Most powerfully, Erika Kirk, speaking of the man who killed her husband, said:  

On the cross our Savior said, “Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.” … That young man, 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.

If the murderer hoped to silence Kirk’s growing influence, he only amplified it further.  What Joseph said to his brothers applies here: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). Or, as John said, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

At the memorial service, hundreds indicated they accepted the invitation to follow Jesus Christ. Since Kirk’s death, more people are finding their way to church, many for the first time. In one widely shared and discussed post, a man who never owned a suit talks of being inspired by Charlie to be a better husband and father and to return to church. Proudly modeling the new suit his wife bought, he says, “I’m gonna try, y’all.”  

Those of us who watched Chuck Colson collapse as he gave his final speech experienced it as a kind of calling. Chuck, many said at the time, “went out with his boots on.” The same is now said of Charlie Kirk, and, on a much larger scale, many perceive this moment as a kind of calling: to be more engaged in their churches and communities, to be bold about sharing their faith, to take a stand for truth, or to be a better husband and father. 

In every cultural moment, God calls his people to be agents of renewal. This includes advancing what is good, opposing what is evil, working to restore what is broken, and offering what is most needed but missing. Living faithfully as His people in this moment will involve condemning the evil of murder and explaining the beauty of offering forgiveness to the murderer. It will mean speaking the truth at great cost, while recognizing that the deceivers and the deceived are made in the image of God. It will mean celebrating that God is bringing sinners to repentance. It will mean having the courage to speak the truth, as well as the humility to learn it. It will mean loving our neighbors and loving our enemies, even if, as G.K. Chesterton quipped, “they are the same people.” 

Like in any moment, the Gospel clarifies who we are and what we must be. Christ’s demands sound especially unreasonable and extreme in moments like this, but Paul is clear that we should “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”   

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” 

We rest in the truths that this world belongs to God; that we belong, body and soul, to Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us; that even when we were His enemies, Christ died for us. That is the truth about us. That is the truth about everything. 

If this is a “turning point” for our culture, as some have said and we all should hope, our work must be anchored in the true turning point of human history. Our work must be grounded in the work of Christ. We forgive because we are forgiven. We love because He first loved us. We stand for what is true and right, because the One who is True and Righteous altogether has made Himself known to us.

Image credit: Photo credit: ©GettyImges/Eric Thayer/Stringer

John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.