A resurfaced video of a very young-looking Charlie Kirk appeared on the internet and became an instant hit, both for the fact that it featured the assassinated conservative warrior but also because the message resonated so powerfully with viewers. As Kirk was so adroit at doing, he distilled big ideas into digestible truths.
Presumably speaking on a college campus, as he became famous for doing and because he called out by name what the system intentionally omits, Kirk laid bare the distinctions between justice, mercy, and grace while highlighting differences among religions of the world. At its core, Kirk argued, only Christianity offers grace to its believers through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Kirk’s breakdown began with a rebuttal of the common progressive notion that all people are inherently the same and all of their worldviews are likewise interchangeable. “Why Christianity is different than every other religion in the world, and no college will tell you this. People say all the religions are the same, no Christianity, unlike any others, all the other religions is you trying to get closer to God,” he expounded before uttering one of the most marked differences of them all. “Christianity is God who came to you.”
He then delved into examples for some of the most misused ideas found within religious texts and our modern-day systems. “What is grace? We know what justice is. You break into a store, you get what you deserve. Get a month in prison. Mercy. You go in front of the judge and he says, you know, give you a week in prison,” he explained
It was at this point that Kirk spent some time on the issue of grace. Justice and mercy are relatively well understood, but the idea of mercy remains elusive to many. “Now, grace is something different,” he stated. “Grace is that when you die and you face your Creator, may have a list of everything wrong you’ve ever done, ever private and public, omniscient, omnipotent, all of it, and a judgment is about to be given.”
The final few words so powerfully explained one of the core distinctions of Christianity. “You’re about to get your sentencing. And instead of mercy, instead of justice. All of a sudden, someone steps up and says, Hold on, I know him. I know her. I’ll serve that prison sentence. You can go live free. That is grace, and only Jesus Christ can give you that,” he finished.
Charlie Kirk, months after his death, remains in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. His legacy carries on in the countless interactions he had with people and through the speeches he gave that offered messages of clarity, hope, and inspiration. No doubt, this video hits home not just for the solemn reminder of the greatness that was taken away from Christian conservatives.
At the same time, what made Kirk so impactful was that the truths he spoke were not ephemeral but timeless. Charlie Kirk may be gone, but his precocious wisdom and ability to speak about the biggest issues in a manner that we could all understand lives on forever.