“At times the sky seems dark,
with not a ray of light;
We’re tossed and driven on,
no human help in sight.
But there is One in heaven,
Who knows our deepest care;
Let Jesus solve your problems,
just go to him in prayer.Life’s day will soon be o’re,
all storms forever past;
We’ll cross the great divide
to Glory, safe at last!
We’ll share the joys of heaven:
a harp, a home, a crown;
The tempter will be banished,
We’ll lay our burdens down.It will be worth it all
when we see Jesus!
Life’s trials will seem so small
when we see Christ.
One glimpse of his dear face,
all sorrow will erase.
So, bravely run the race
till we see Christ.”~Esther Kerr Rusthoi
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has defended an innocent man despite a high personal cost. It was the right thing to do. As Atticus prepares to leave the courtroom, the crowd begins to stand up. Reverend Sykes turns to Atticus’ daughter, called Scout, and tells her to stand up, too, because her father is about to pass by all of them. These words and actions are a mark of respect for Atticus. On October 14, 2025, millions will stand up to honor a man sent from God who is worthy of respect.
From time to time, there strides across the stage of life a special man or woman destined to change the course of human history. Charles James Kirk was such a man. Born on October 14, 1993 and raised in the Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights, Charlie became politically active in high school. After a brief enrollment in college, Charlie dropped out to established Turning Point USA. He was a young man in a hurry. He was a passionate man with a purpose. He was a visionary on a mission which was to turn the minds of individuals, and young people in particular, toward preserving traditional American values.
Charlie wanted people to honor God, love Jesus, establish families, and be patriotic. To that end he dedicated his life and then, on September 10, 2025, at age 31, he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet while speaking at a Turning Point USA debate event on the campus of the Utah Valley University.
While Charlie was concerned about advocating a conservative political agenda, he never hesitated to share his faith because the secular and the sacred cannot be separated. America’s Founding Fathers believed this to be true.
John Adams stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
George Washington echoed this, remarking, “Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular
Benjamin Franklin succinctly said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”
Patrick Henry stressed that “A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom.” ~Founders’ Vision of Virtuous Citizenry
In a CBN (Christian Broadcast Network) article, Charlie’s faith story was presented, from his conversion to Jesus as Lord and Savior in fifth grade to when he met Him in Heaven.
From CBN:
“I heard the gospel,” Charlie said in a podcast in 2024. “And so, I realized the stakes in 5th grade. I’m a sinner, I’m selfish, I’m broken and only thanks to Jesus’s perfect sacrifice, coming and living a perfect life that I get something I do not earn but has been given to me, this free gift of eternal life.”
The free gift of eternal life is real, as Charlie discovered. A shot rang out, time stood still, Charlie blinked, and saw Jesus.
“Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face—what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!”~ Carrie Ellis Breck
Because Christ lives, Charlie lives too. The Christian faith proclaims a gospel of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore, Charlie still lives, not just in our hearts, and memory, but in another dimension of time and space, in a new body suited for the eternal.
Evangelist D. L. Moody encouraged the saints of his day with this promise.
“Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal—a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.”
“I was born of the flesh in 1837.
I was born of the Spirit in 1856.
That which is born of the flesh may die.
That which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom
According to the White House website, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to “individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Charlie Kirk is worthy of this high honor.
The Crowns of Glory
As Charlie is remembered and posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, let it be known that he has already received several divine accolades bestowed on faithful believers in Christ. Consider the Crowns of Glory.
The Incorruptible Crown – “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Paul has in mind the athlete in the Roman arena. Before the contest, each participant practiced self-discipline, being temperate in all things. As is true of the world today, there were doubtless many pleasures and pastimes that the athletes might have entered and enjoyed, but they denied themselves these things in order to do their best, and receive the crown of the victor. The incorruptible crown for the Christian is the victor’s crown for those who keep, or protect their bodies, and bring it into subjection. It is a conquering of the old nature.
The Crown of Rejoicing. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). This is the soul-winner’s crown. The first thing that a Christian should pray for and seek to cultivate is the desire, ability, and wisdom to win lost souls to Jesus Christ. Every time an individual is converted, there is joy in Heaven; but at the day of the giving of rewards, the soul-winner will be exceedingly joyful when those are presented to God whom he had won to Christ. What is our hope of reward as Christ’s witnesses? The answer is in those who will be in Heaven because of our prayers, gifts, preaching, and personal work.
The Crown of Righteousness. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). Here the character of the reward corresponds to the character of the Giver. Both are said to be righteous. The doctrine of our Lord’s return is regarded very highly by God. In spite of the fact that Jesus said He would come again, there are many people who scoff at the thought of Christ’s appearing. This and kindred truths have brought suffering and hardship, and in some cases death to those who insisted on preaching and teaching them. But how wonderful to know that God has prepared a special reward for all who look for that blessed hope, who wait for His son from Heaven, and who love His appearing.
The Crown of Life. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12). “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). The Crown of Life is reserved for those who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Not all of our Lord’s witnesses have been called to suffering and martyrdom. Not all would be willing to pay with their lives to take the message of salvation to the lost. How thoughtful and just our heavenly Father was when He prepared a martyr’s crown for those who suffer persecution for Christ’s sake! Though some of us will not receive the Crown of Life, we will rejoice with those who refused to count the cost and have died proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.
For one brief shining moment, God sent a luminary to the world to help elect President Donald J. Trump, and to tell generations to come, if there is nothing worth dying for, there is nothing worth living for. Charlie died for what he believed. He invites other to rise up and follow him as he followed Christ believing with every fiber of his soul it was worth it all.
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 