MY TURN: Kirk's death a wake-up call

Decades ago, I was that little girl in the Minneapolis Catholic church, praying to a God I loved and trusted. In 2019, I was in the crowd, listening to Charlie Kirk as he encouraged, admonished and related to all of us his love for our country and his deep faith in God. The incomprehensible evil that has been brutally unleashed upon our hearts and souls these past weeks has us grasping for answers to questions we’ve too often had to ask … answers that elude us.

Pastor Jared Lyda, of All of Life church, shared this quote with us on the senseless murders of our own local first responders: “God, with his infinite perspective, and for reasons known only to himself, knows that we finite human beings cannot, indeed must not, ‘make sense’ of evil. For the final truth is that evil does not make sense. ‘Sense' is part of our rationality that, in itself, is part of God’s good creation and God’s image in us.” 

So where does that leave us? If we cannot make sense of evil, how are we to live in the current climate of the tragedy du jour? The day of Charlie Kirk’s death, there was a school shooting in Colorado. The church shooting in Minneapolis was the fourth deadly shooting in that city in 24 hours. Do we stockpile more weapons, add more locks to the doors and avoid any and all unnecessary contact with the outside world? Then what’s the bottom to that? More fear? A precarious sense of security, based on our own efforts and understanding? 

Children were killed while praying … should we, then, stop praying? Charlie Kirk was murdered for, and while, he was respectfully speaking the truth in love to those hungry for meaning and purpose in their lives. Do we stop bringing a message of hope to a lost and dying world? I would think those measures would be counter-intuitive to the real cry of our hearts … an unalterable design by God himself for relationship with Him, and a deep, innate desire for a purpose in our lives to live for more than ourselves. 

Living in fear is not the answer. A wise quote from an unlikely source … Yoda, in "Star Wars," reminds us that “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred. And hatred leads to suffering.” The movie writers had it right. 

Proverbs 1:27 tells us “When your fear comes like sudden desolation … your destruction shall come like a whirlwind when affliction and anguish shall come upon you.” But what have we been given by God, if we have faith in His Son? “For we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7) 

Every day, on an average, 13 people in the world die for their faith in God. That amounts to one person just about every two hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sept. 10, Charlie Kirk was one of them. His only “threat” to society was effectively, compassionately communicating that there is a Hope beyond this life and His name is Jesus. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

I believe my son-in-law put it well tonight in an email: “May we fight with the gospel and show love to our enemies. Justice has its place, and the shooter deserves justice, but I see no one commenting they were praying for his soul as Jesus prayed for us all on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” I see many people on the right falling into the same antagonism and spirit which I see on the left. May this spark boldness to speak the truth. 

Charlie proved that you can change a generation through dialogue and not through violence. May we follow in our Master’s steps and love even our enemies. That’s what has always been the most powerful witness throughout history … not fighting back the violence with violence, but with love and the truth of Jesus. 

May this be a wake-up call for us all to make a difference in the sphere of influence the Lord Jesus has put us in.” May every drop of martyred blood, including Charlie Kirk’s, water the fields of warriors for Christ, growing tens of thousands more courageous, loving, uncompromising, unapologetic witnesses to our only Hope … the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ. 

As a wounded child’s father in Minneapolis stated last week “I urge everyone to pray … and then move your feet.”

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Zoe Ann Thruman is a Coeur d'Alene resident.