“When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided his clothes and cast lots.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

My boys are all at or nearly in their teenage years. One thing teenage boys like to do is play. And one of the games we tend to play most around my house is to see who can hit each other with something last. One will hit the other with something – not hard, but playfully – and the other responds in kind. Then the first hits him back, and this continues back and forth until someone wins. How does someone win exactly? Well, in most cases the winner is whoever managed to get the last hit in before Mom or Dad finally tells them to knock it off. If it’s me they’ve picked a fight with, though, I win because I just respond with such overwhelming force that they don’t have a chance. If they start it, I make sure I finish it. Around the house this kind of thing is just playful and fun. It’s teenage boys being teenage boys. But there’s something deeper here worth considering. This desire to get someone back when they’ve offended us is natural. It is natural, but if we don’t control it, it can quickly lead to far more hurt than whatever the original offense was. Unfortunately, we can’t control it. But there is a power that can help. This power was put on display rather poignantly recently. Let’s talk about Erika Kirk and Gospel forgiveness.

While the media may be trying to move on thanks in large part to being mostly dominated by a worldview that was deeply at odds with Charlie Kirk’s worldview, much of the nation is still reeling over his assassination a couple of weeks ago. It is worth noting, though, that the premeditated, political assassination of this figure who was beloved by millions and millions of people on the cultural and political right has resulted in no reciprocal violence. There have not been any riots. No buildings or vehicles have been burned down. No police officers have been attacked because of it. No threatening letters have been sent. No campuses have been occupied. None of that.

Allow me to ask an uncomfortable question: Does anyone believe that if a figure of similar significance had been murdered in the same fashion from the cultural and political left the outcome would have been the same? George Floyd was not a known man of the left; in fact he wasn’t known to anybody before his unjust killing at the hands of some Minneapolis police officers. But the left quickly claimed him as a kind of martyr. And look at the results of that. How many riots in how many cities were there? How many buildings and cars were burned? How many businesses were destroyed? How many police officers were attacked simply for being in the same profession as the people who killed him?

The contrast is glaring. The worldviews behind the divergent sets of actions have been revealed to be unequal in terms of their cultural impact when embraced and unleashed in the large.

Rather than rioting or turning to violence of any kind, supporters of Charlie Kirk held a public memorial service this past Sunday afternoon. Mourners completely filled two stadiums. People were in line to get into the event starting almost twelve hours before it began in hopes of getting a seat. In addition to that, while it was not carried on most major networks (and tell me that wouldn’t have been the case if George Floyd had been given a similar memorial service), more than 100 million people streamed it online. That’s Super Bowl-like viewership numbers.

What made this enormous number of viewers so significant, though, was not simply the volume. It was the fact that one speaker after another shared the Gospel in clear and direct ways. Charlie’s pastor gave one such Gospel presentation and went on to intentionally invite people in attendance to respond to it. He invited people who had embraced Jesus and the Christian faith in that moment to stand to publicly proclaim it, and hundreds of people around the stadium took to their feet.

Now, not every speaker did the same. Some cast a different vision. There is a clear battle forming over Charlie’s legacy and who will be its primary shaping influence; over which worldview will create the dominant narrative. How that goes remains to be seen. But for now at least, it is the Christian worldview that Charlie so consciously and boldly embraced in his own life that has been put most publicly on display.

This was demonstrated most powerfully during the memorial service when Charlie’s widow, Erika, took the stage to eulogize her husband. For her to take the stage as she did given the circumstances and the context was remarkable in and of itself. But what made the moment all the more significant was what she chose to say. As a grieving widow whose husband was unjustly taken from her by a coward who has shown no shred of remorse for his actions, no one would have faulted her for declaring her opposition to him and everything he stands for. No one would have batted an eye if she declared that she absolutely supported his receiving the death penalty for his alleged crime. No one would have been in the least surprised if she declared that while she was going to try to move on, she could not forgive him for such an offense.

But she didn’t do any of that. Instead, she forgave her husband’s killer. She took that stage and in front of more than 100 million people declared: “That man. That young man. I forgive him.” The moment is worth watching again if you haven’t.

What made this moment so significant was the context in which she rooted her forgiveness. This was not some generic forgiveness, or a sweeping of the offense under the rug. She rooted it specifically in Jesus’ expression of forgiveness of His own murderers while He was actively hanging on the cross dying. After Jesus was nailed to the cross, Luke tells us that He cried out, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” If Jesus could forgive like that, then she could forgive her husband’s killer.

Let me state something plainly here: No other worldview could have produced this kind of moment. No other worldview has the theological or philosophical or psychological or relational resources to have empowered someone to extend such an offer of forgiveness as this. Every other worldview would have easily justified a call for vengeance or even revenge. Every other worldview would have understood perfectly if she refused to forgive and instead called for the killer to be treated the same way as he treated her husband. Many other worldviews would have supported a call for a violent response from Charlie’s supporters to show the world their strength and to discourage any future thoughts of similar action from their opponents.

But the Christian worldview is different. The Christian worldview is better.

For all the supporters of Charlie Kirk who were dismayed and discouraged and thinking hard about how they should respond to his murder, Erika set the tone for the kind of response that is going to be acceptable. Because of her public forgiveness, no one else will have any sort of justification to respond in any other way. If the victim’s own wife forgave the killer and extended grace to those who occupy similar worldview space as he did, then no one else can legitimately do any less than that. No one else can respond with anything less than kindness and compassion, graciousness and humility. Erika likely prevented untold amounts of violence and turmoil in the future by her words and example.

And she did it because she is a follower of Jesus.

This is what the Christian worldview looks like when it is embraced and lived out. That is a significant part of what makes the Christian worldview worthwhile. A worldview that encourages forgiveness like this instead of vengeance will make the culture that embraces it a better place. A culture that consciously follows Jesus will be a better culture than one that does not.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you have the chance to be a part of advancing this worldview into the world around you. You have the ability to tell others about Jesus and His incredible message of forgiveness and grace for anyone who will receive it. You have a chance to proclaim the Gospel. In fact, you are commanded to do it. This is even more true of the church. The church has an opportunity here that we must not miss. We must shine as light in a dark world, pointing people to what is right and true and good. We must demonstrate the love of Christ in practical, meaningful ways so the world can see what it is missing and why grabbing hold of it is so worthwhile. Let’s together demonstrate why Charlie was right and what made his message so good.