Well Done, Faithful Servant Charlie

​At the end of our lives, we all want to hear the same thing from the Lord: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21) It is clear that we are all born with different gifts and abilities. It is our responsibility to make the best of our own. We may not be able to achieve the same things as others, but we can make an equal or greater effort. All of us will be asked the same question at the end of our lives: "What have you done with what I have given to you?"
 
This past week, the Lord would have asked Charlie Kirk that question. I am sure that he was able to answer that he used all his gifts fully, to the glory of God. There are times when it is particularly difficult to understand why someone is taken from this earth early in life. There are many asking God that question about Charlie. At the age of thirty-one, Charlie was taken from us through an assassin's bullet as he engaged with students at Utah Valley University. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, it became obvious to those around him that Charlie was wise beyond his years. He grew up to be a principled man who stood up for his beliefs. He was a kid with a dream who worked to make it happen.
 
At a young age, he discovered that he could inspire others, especially young people. He loved to debate. Though students at college campuses became his main target, Charlie dropped out of Harper College, near Chicago, to pursue his dreams. In 2012 he founded an organization called "Turning Point USA" whose main focus is defending religious freedom, democracy, and justice. Through podcasts on social media, he reached 100,000,000 young people every month. Turning Point now has over 850 college chapters.
 
Yearly, Charlie scheduled multiple meetings to college campuses throughout the United States for what he called his "Prove Me Wrong Tour." He encouraged debate in the public square and always demonstrated his wealth of knowledge. As he was well-spoken and well researched, he was effective in helping young people think for themselves and inspired them to participate in the life of our country. Charlie's faith was central to everything he did so he defended Biblical values and spoke the truth boldly. He was a patriot who loved our country and thought we could be so much better than we are. His message was one of revival and reformation. President Trump said that Charlie went about "championing ideas with courage, logic, humor, and grace."
 
A Scripture I have always grappled with comes from Psalm 116:15. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."  Footnotes in my Bible help me understand. The word precious in Hebrew means valuable and costly. Another suggestion is that God rejoices when we arrive in heaven. Either way, I know that He feels our pain and grieves with us over this monumental loss.
 
John 12:24 says, "...unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." Charlie is a casualty of the internal war in our country. His message to "welcome without judgment, love without conditions, forgive without limit" must spread. The seed of Charlie has been planted, and we must pray that all the young people who were inspired by him choose to rise up like him in loving God and loving others. Pray for the soul of our nation and that the flames of revival would burn brightly as others pick up the torch that Charlie left for us.