Elton John sung “sorry seems to be the hardest word.” However, in my experience, “I forgive you” is often much harder, especially at the point where there has been no “sorry.” So when Erika Kirk said about Charlie Kirk’s murderer:
“That man I forgive him.”
That was hard. And others have found it still harder to accept her words. At the same event, the memorial service for Kirk, Donald Trump responded that he disagreed with Charlie Kirk on one thing, on forgiveness. He stated that he hates his opponent.
There have also been bewildered responses on social media. Some focused on what from a UK perspective looked cringy such as the pyrotechnics. I would encourage you to push through the cringe to hear the words of his widow.
One person argued, presumably based on some conspiracy theory or other that she could say it because she knew that the bloke they have detained isn’t the killer. Yet, that would not be forgiveness and nor did she focus on someone who may turn out to be not guilty. She was clear that she was forgiving the killer.
Someone else tried to explain that forgiveness was about finding healing for yourself not something for the offender. However, she was clear that her reason for forgiving was the forgiveness of Jesus which is nothing to do with self healing and everything to do with releasing the offender from their debt.
I guess quite a few people will struggle with hearing about forgiveness from those linked to Charlie Kirk because of things that they struggle with about him. To them, I’d say two things. First, this isn’t about a man’s politics, it is about a widow’s words. Listen to them. Second, if you can’t hear it from Charlie Kirk’s wife, hear it from others. Heat it from Elizabeth Elliot who went to reach her husband Jim’s killers with the Gospel. Hear it from the Pollard family. Michael was a friend of our family, murdered in post communist Eastern Europe on a mission trip. His wife Jo went back to forgive. This was a lesson our family has to learn too in 2005 when my Great Aunt was mugged and killed, knocked to the floor and left to die.
True forgiveness comes only because we know that we have been forgiven far more ourselves by Jesus.
Faithroots 