A "Turning Point" For Us All

September 18th, 2025

WRITER’S NOTE: It’s been a week since I heard the dreadful news. It’s been a week of trying to organize my thoughts as I make my final revisions. It’s been a week of heartache. It’s been a week of inner challenge. It’s been a week of trying to find my voice. It’s been a week of wrestling with implications. But it’s also been a week of rejoicing and awe in God’s providence, mercy, and grace. It’s been a week…

The following is Brian Miller's personal perspective on the courage of a life well-lived, the grace of lament, the call to follow hard after Christ, and other uncategorized thoughts of this “turning point.”

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(Verse posted by Erika Kirk, a few hours before her husband was assassinated)

Shock, Sorrow, and the Weight of Darkness

I was driving a friend who was in the midst of a dark spiritual battle to the ER last Wednesday when I first heard the news that Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah. As I prayed with him, I prayed for Charlie, too, hoping for the best but fearing the worst as no news had been reported that it was minor. I was three blocks from home an hour later when news broke that he was dead. I pulled into my driveway as the weight of it crashed down on me. I parked. I sat in stunned silence. I wept. It wouldn’t be the first time I couldn’t hold back the flood in the face of such spiritual darkness.

How could death of a man who lived 31 short years on this earth produce such a reaction? I didn’t know Charlie. I had never met him. He was young enough to be my son. Yet I have read and seen scores of testimonies of similar reactions from across the country and the world.

A Young Man Who Spoke with Conviction and Grace

The truth is I looked up to the man despite our age difference. He was a loving husband and father and leader. Charlie was fearless in the face of evil and danger. He courageously spoke the truth to hostile audiences across the country and the world. He spoke with conviction and grace. He was, as Peter exhorts in chapter 3 of his first epistle, “always … prepared to make a defense to anyone who ask you for the reason for the hope that is in you … with gentleness and respect.”

I first heard about this young man and his organization, Turning Point USA, back in 2016. I didn’t know much about him, but over the years, I saw his courage in standing up for Christian values. Charlie wasn’t perfect, he’d be the first to tell you that, and I can’t say I agreed with him on every one of his stands, but his ability to courteously reason with people who hated his message really stood out. It made me, in some small way, bolder and less afraid to share the truth because of the example of this young man of 20-some years.

The Gospel at the Center of His Life and Message

But I didn’t understand the extent of his faith in Jesus Christ until last year, when I really started watching some of his videos and saw him proclaim the Gospel over and over again. Up until then, I had mostly seen clips of Charlie standing strong for the sanctity of life, against the mutilation of children, and championing other Judeo-Christian and conservative values. I began to see more clearly that he was an ambassador for Christ, as we are all called to be, and he was reaching thousands, if not millions with that message.

That is where my deep love for him as a brother in Christ began. He spoke the truth in love and out of concern for the lost condition of many of his audience. He boldly proclaimed the Gospel. Here are two examples:

“Those of you who are not yet believers, it’s very simple. You’re going to have a court date. We all die, and you’re all going to meet the supreme judge of the universe. Justice is getting what you deserve, which is going to a not-so-good place. We’re all sinners, and we all fall short of the glory of God, but thanks to the cross, a perfect loving God who came down in human form, … lived a perfect life, and died for us so that we could live forever, at that moment we’re about to get that sentencing into eternal damnation, (Jesus) says, ‘No, no, no. I know him. I know her. Welcome to eternal life.’”

“You have an opportunity. The Gospel in four words is ‘Jesus took my place,’ three words is ‘Him for me,’ two words is ‘substitutionary atonement,’ and one word is ‘grace.’ Grace you cannot earn. Grace you do not pay for. … It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person, it doesn’t matter if you have always done the best you can because what’s different about Christianity is that it’s a gift for all of humanity to receive, regardless of everything we have done. And your life will be transformed. You will be born again. Grace is not earned. It is given by a God who loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.”

The second summed up his denial of a “soft” gospel that teaches that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

“We are all facing an eternal damnation because we are totally depraved as humans. If your Christianity is nothing more than an insurance plan for the afterlife, that is not a conversion. That is not legitimate Christianity. That is an insult to God. You cannot live a fulfilling, beautiful, deep, Christ-centered life, one that is truly joyful, and violate his teachings or commands. You ultimately do the things not to get saved; you do them because you are saved. You do those things because of that free gift of eternal salvation.”

Charlie is at rest with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk. A martyr’s crown awaits him. That much is clear.

Trust in God’s Sovereignty

What is unclear is the why. Why did God allow Charlie to be gunned down? Why, Lord?

There is grace in lament. The Psalms are full of them. Many start with the why. But there is a turning point, always anchored on God’s steadfast love. And those Psalms turn into trust in God’s sovereignty, mercy, and faithfulness. We can learn from that pattern. Psalms 10, 13, 22, and 77 are good examples to read.

What is also clear is that in death, Charlie’s impact has been magnified. There are countless testimonies of this on social media. I dare say more people have heard the Gospel in this last week than maybe anytime ever.

I think of the first mention of the apostle Paul in Acts. It was at the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr. How could the man then named Saul not have been shaken to the core by Stephen’s courage and steadfast testimony and final words: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” What a testimony of Christ’s love for his enemies, who, apart from His grace, we all are from birth.

Romans 5:10
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

That grace showered upon us at justification is what we need daily to live a life that follows hard after Christ’s example to us, that lives boldly in truth and loves like He did. That grace gives us the ability to love our neighbor, even our enemy, because we recognize we’re not fighting against men, “but against rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

It appears Charlie was shot by a young man who had been indoctrinated and radicalized by the leftist ideology that Charlie committed to dismantling truth by truth. This young man was undoubtedly influenced by the spiritual forces of this present darkness. He is also not out of reach of God’s grace. If he were to repent and come in faith to Jesus Christ, he would be forgiven, and Charlie would welcome him as a brother in Christ in heaven someday.

The same with those who have reacted with glee and vile messages of celebration. They are not out of reach of God’s grace. We need to pray for them.

Light in the Darkness: Carrying the Torch Forward

A friend of mine remarked in conversation that “a line in the sand has been drawn.” In the confusion of this present darkness, the Enemy does not want distinctions, but I agree with my friend. There has been a clear line drawn between light and darkness, good and evil, truth and lies.

Acts 17:30b-31
“Now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man (Jesus) whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

The answer is not bitter tribalism, but in the better way, the Gospel of peace with God.

I’ll close with one last quote from Charlie:

“Before I go on a college campus, my prayer is very simple: ‘God use me for your will,’ because there’s a plan above us all. God is sovereign above all. The capacity and ability of our action is very debatable. So, what is God’s plan when I go on a college campus? … I will only tell truth, I will not compromise, and I’ll love on the lost. … The specific teaching of Christ is go make disciples of all nations. I’m trying my best to do that. … Jesus called us to love children. Jesus called us to tell truth. Jesus called us to contest in the public square for His purposes.”

I pray I take that challenge to heart, to speak the truth with boldness, to never compromise, and to love the lost.

Pray for Erika Kirk and their two small children and the rest of Charlie’s family in loved ones.
Pray for the young people, especially, who have been so impacted by his death.
Pray for the enemies of Christ and share His great redeeming love with them.

May this be a turning point in my life and yours as well. Above all, may God be glorified.

Author Bio:
Brian Miller is a longtime newspaper columnist and freelance writer. He and his wife Bethany, a fellow “preacher’s kid,” are currently residing on South Padre Island, TX. Brian seeks to use lessons learned in his life of God’s unchanging love, grace, mercy, and faithfulness to bring hope to others who may be struggling. You may write to him at bd1976@pm.me.