Mourning Charlie Kirk – Some Personal Reflections

Mourning Charlie Kirk — A Candle in the Darkness

Like many around the world, I was stunned when I heard the news of the shooting and death of Charlie Kirk. Millions are mourning his loss. And, shockingly, some seem not just indifferent—but even celebratory.

I’ve found myself reflecting on what to think… and what to say.

Regardless of where one stands politically or spiritually, I want to share a few thoughts I’ve had about Charlie:

• He was profoundly courageous.
• He believed in universal, absolute truths.
• He addressed how these truths, or the lack thereof, affect culture, country, and life.
• He stood for those truths often in hostile environments.
• He deeply loved his wife and children.
• He was grateful to be forgiven and loved by Jesus Christ—despite his own brokenness.
• He wanted others to experience that same forgiveness and love in their own brokenness.
• He firmly believed that if people truly understood the love of Christ, they would discover Jesus to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” just as He claimed.

Charlie believed, for example:

• The more fully we grasp the WAY Christ has loved all humanity, the more racism would be dismantled at every level.
• As we grow in our understanding of Christ’s TRUTH about His intentional creation of male and female, we begin to treat one another with deeper reverence and receive our sexuality as a sacred gift—not a personal construct.
• The closer we experience LIFE with Jesus and follow Him, the more we realize that nothing else truly and lastingly satisfies—not money, sex, or changing one’s sex, not alcohol, drugs, pornography, fame, or fortune.

I have been sobered, deeply saddened, and stirred.

Purportedly, St. Francis of Assisi once said:

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

Thank you Charlie!

However many days God grants me on this earth, I aim to be one of those candles. I want to shine the light of Christ—to help others find Jesus as the Way to the Father in Heaven, who embodies all Truth and is the source of everlasting Life.

Mark Oelze Author/Creator of PLEDGEtalk

Learn more at PLEDGEtalk.com

P.S. Debate or dialogue? Charlie was big into debate. I am passionate about dialogue. I have come to believe both have their place—and I’ll share more on that in a future post.