Today, I want to take a moment to acknowledge Charlie Kirk. As you likely know, Charlie was a public figure who gained recognition by visiting college campuses and debating students through the lens of his Christian worldview.

In my opinion, whether you agree with everything Charlie said and believed is beside the point. I’m going to attempt (with some degree of fear and trembling) to frame how I think we as Christians should view his death.

As Christians, we must see this moment for what it is. Charlie Kirk was killed for what he believed to be a faithful interpretation of the Bible and proclamation of those beliefs. In short, he was assassinated because he professed belief in the God of the Bible and then attempted to flesh out what he saw as an accurate interpretation of the Scriptures for his hearers.

Here is where I come back to my original point. The details of those beliefs are not the point. Did I agree with everything Charlie said? Not always, but was Charlie a brother in Christ passionately and effectively (far more so than I) getting out into the world and trying to make disciples like his Lord and Savior commanded him to do? He was. As a result, his life was ended by someone who hates the truths Charlie espoused because they were truths he felt most accurately reflected the heart of the God he loved.

What should our response be as Christians to this horrific event?

First, we need to see this event for what it is: a brother in Christ was killed for proclaiming his faith in the public square. If there was any debate on the world’s hostility towards the gospel, there needn’t be anymore.

Second, we need to prepare our children for this hostility. Not by making them afraid. The truth is that this hostility is not new: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). Most of us, as adults, have lived in relative peace regarding our Christian beliefs being questioned by the world. Praise God for this. However, unless there is a significant shift in the cultural climate (and we pray for revival), I anticipate continued dissonance between what the world would have us believe and what God calls us to believe.

So, how do we prepare our children? Again, the response isn’t fear—“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control…” (2 Timothy 1:7). Instead, it is a movement towards giving them a solid faith foundation. You are already doing this in your homes and churches. Here at Hill Country, we seek to partner with you to anchor your children in Christ and prepare them to love and serve a world that will not always agree with them. I believe this is essential, not only for our children but also for the advancement of the gospel in our world.

Third, we don’t respond in kind. When Jesus was struck, he didn’t strike back. When one of our own is killed, we don’t turn to violence and hatred in response. Instead, we go back to Christ’s new commandment: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). We “love [our] enemies and pray for those who persecute [us]” (Matthew 5:44).

Lastly, we pray. We pray for our children, who may not have the same peaceful world where most of us have had the privilege of growing up. We pray for the Church, which seeks to proclaim the good news of freedom in Christ faithfully, and that they would do so more and more. And we pray for our neighbors and those who don’t yet know Him, that through our lives, they would see that we are different. Not because we check all the boxes and always do the right thing. Lord knows we do not. But instead, because we know the most excellent news of all time, we are forgiven in Christ. We didn’t deserve it. We still don’t deserve it. We don’t measure up. We don’t love as we ought. And despite that, Christ says, You belong to me. I have adopted you into my Father’s household and called you to be with me, forgiven, clean, free.

To God be the glory! Soli deo gloria!

With a heavy, but hopeful heart,

Eric DeVries, Head of School