A Powerful Force

It's been almost three weeks since the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service in Arizona, which thousands attended in person and millions watched in some form through online platforms. In the midst of the moving worship and messages that were centered on gospel truth, which Kirk embraced and communicated, there was one seminal moment that continues to ring throughout the media, a moment that touched hearts, regardless of their political persuasion. It contained a message of forgiveness.  In Matthew 18 (ESV), we can read:
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? ”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times..."

Colossians 3 (ESV) states:
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

The ability to extend forgiveness to another person comes from the One who forgave those who put Him to death, who said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  In that spirit of forgiveness, the widow of the late Charlie Kirk forgave the man who had taken her husband's life.  And, that act has continued to reverberate.  It influenced a well-known actor to the extent that he announced his forgiveness for the man who took the life of his father.  A Faithwire article noted:

Actor Tim Allen, like many of us, has struggled to offer absolution to the drunk driver who killed his father when the performer was just 11 years old.

But something recently happened that changed all of that for Allen: someone else’s stunning act of forgiveness gave him the motivation to offer the same to the man who inflicted pain on his family.

Erika Kirk, the wife of conservative and Christian commentator Charlie Kirk, stunned the world Sunday when she stood on stage at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and forgave the man who allegedly murdered her husband.

He posted on X: “When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: “’That man… that young man… I forgive him’ — that moment deeply affected me,” adding, “I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad.”  Allen also said: “I will say those words now as I type: ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’ Peace be with you all.”

Another comedian and late-night talk-show host, who had been suspended by his network for making inappropriate comments in light of his death, was touched by the expression of forgiveness.  USA Today reported:

Kimmel became teary eyed when he mentioned Kirk's widow.

"There was a moment over the weekend, a very beautiful moment. On Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him. That is an example we should follow," Kimmel said, growing emotional.

"If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was," he continued. "That's it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many. If there's anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that."

This illustrates the power of a moment, the power of a concept.  And, the topic of the moment was forgiveness, beautifully extended by a woman who had lost her husband in a brutal shooting just days before.  

The Bible has much to say about settling our differences, and it offers a number of powerful concepts.  A few of them:

We should never seek to retaliate against those who have wronged us.  Romans 12 teaches us to recognize that vengeance belongs to the Lord.  

We should reject the temptation to silence our enemies.  That's ultimately, I believe, what drove Charlie Kirk's murderer to commit the heinous act.  He wanted to shut him up.  And, while it doesn't usually go to that extreme, Christians have been on the receiving end of such attempts to silence our message and to reject the teachings of Jesus.

Anger is not the answer.  Anger generally will hurt us and paralyze our hearts more than it hurts the person with whom we are angry.  These negative emotions, such as unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger take up residence in our soul and must be surrendered to our all-forgiving God, who has, because of our relationship with Christ, given us the ability to exercise His forgiveness.

We should identify people for whom we bear grudges and forgive them.  Because they, and we need to be set free - forgiveness allows us to experience that.  It's a powerful force that even non-believers can embrace.  By our willingness to walk a different path, we can be conduits of the love of Christ, which can penetrate the human heart.