今天(9/10/2025)下午早些時候，查理·柯克，一位基督徒，一位丈夫，也是兩個年幼孩子的父親，在公共場所——大學校園——大聲疾呼真理時被槍殺，而大學校園本應是不同觀點可以自由辯論的地方。
首先，他喚醒了全美國！無論你是否同意這位年輕人的立場，當暴力成為表達分歧的常見方式時，這使我們都深陷困境。當上帝被從公共場所移除時，我們失去了維繫國家公民團結的共同基礎，而我們現在正在承受其後果。
他喚醒了教會！教會對文化問題的沉默，使許多人(包括基督徒）被「這世界的神弄瞎了心眼」(哥林多後書 4:4) ，也蒙蔽了社會的良知。馬丁路德曾經說過：「不處理當今議題的福音根本就不是福音。」教會不能再躲在「安全的福音」背後，而忽略「當今的問題」。查理·柯克就在他談論「當今的議題」時被槍殺了。他曾在一次訪談中回答：
「首先我是基督徒，這是我生命中最重要的一個身分。我常常需要跑遍美國不同地方，所以我常到不同的教會參加聚會，感受到不同教會的風格。我感覺現在的教會對於目前影響我們文化的許多重要議題都保持沉默，對於正在拆毀我們社會根基的現狀普遍無動於衷。我聽了一篇又一篇的講道信息，它們在神學上都非常正確，我非常認同他們說基督徒要成為世上的光和鹽、要出去傳福音給人，然而他們卻對美國每天3000個胎兒被墮胎保持沉默，對於大行其道的馬克思主義Marxism 所帶來的人本主義思想保持沉默。我跟我自己說，如果我是左派人士，我最高興的事情莫過於基督教會如此的沉默。 」
教會已沉默太久。但教會不是用譴責的口吻咆哮真理，而是「用愛心說誠實話(真理)」(以弗所書 4:15)，這樣才能引領人歸向基督。Charlie以愛、恩典和謙卑的態度說出真理，真正展現了他的勇氣和真誠。正如彼得前書 3:15所說「只要心裡尊主基督為聖 。 有人問你們心中盼望的緣由 ， 就要常作準備 ， 以溫柔 、 敬畏的心(gentleness and respect)回答各人 ；」
他喚醒了基督徒！我們國家的猶太-基督教根基已經破裂，並被世俗主義滲透。耶穌警告我們：「你們若屬世界，世界會愛屬自己的；只因你們不屬世界，而是我從世界中揀選了你們，所以世界就恨你們。」（約翰福音 15：19) 。雅各也警告我們：「與世俗為友，就是與神為敵。」（雅各書 4:4）查理·柯克在他短短三十一年的人生中，喚醒了許多人，尤其是年輕一代。這或許就是他成為攻擊目標的原因。是的，即使在美國，我們仍然可能成為殉道者。所以，這對所有生活在美國的基督徒來說，無疑是個真正的警鐘。我們無法逃脫早期基督徒所面臨的困境，也無法逃脫當今「受迫害國家」的基督徒所面臨的困境！事實上，我們遭受迫害已經很久了，是時候覺醒了。
他也喚醒了基督徒父母！基督徒父母比以往任何時候都更面臨挑戰，如何保護和培育孩子，使他們與世界分別，不效法世界。我們的孩子在學校裡學習的是真理，還是「被人間的傳統和世上粗淺的學說，把他們擄去。」（歌羅西書2:8）？ 柯克在他的書《大學騙局The College Scam》中指出，高校充斥著「極左派教授」，他們利用課堂「向學生灌輸反美和進步思想」。
他的離世也提醒父母珍惜與家人和孩子在一起的每一刻，尤其是在他們年幼的時候！願上帝與查理·柯克的妻子和他們的兩個年幼孩子同在。世上沒有任何人或任何物質財富能夠彌補他們現在所經歷的損失。
最後，他也喚醒了所有的人，讓我們知道我們的盼望唯獨在上帝！任何「主義」都無法解決問題；唯一的出路就在古老的十字架上。願我們今晚都停頓下來，在全能的上帝面前靜默，認罪悔改歸向基督(因我們不知是否還有明天），並呼求上帝醫治我們的土地！
查理·柯克已在基督裡睡了，但他的生命將繼續激勵和喚醒眾多基督徒和後代。他已「打過了美好的仗，跑盡了當跑的路，守住了所信的道。」（提摩太後書 4:7）願我們這些活著的基督徒，不再沉睡而要繼續「打那美好的仗，守住所信的道，直到跑完當跑的路！」
Early this afternoon(9/10/2025), Charlie Kirk, a fellow Christian, a husband and young father of two, was shot to death while he was speaking out the truth in the public square, on a college campus. This is the very place where differing ideas are supposedly allowed to be freely debated.
First, this is a wakeup call for all of America! It does not matter whether one agrees with the young man’s position or not. When violence becomes a common way to show our disagreement, we are all in deep trouble. When God was removed from the public square, we lost the common foundation which was holding the country’s citizens together, and we are now reaping the consequences.
This is a wakeup call for the Church! Our silence regarding cultural issues has opened the door for “the gods of the world” to blind both the conscience of society as well as the minds of Christians. Martin Luther once said, “A gospel that does not deal with the issues of the day is not the gospel at all.”
The Church has been silent for too long. At the same time, let us remember that the Church should not speak the truth with condemnation but rather speak with love and grace. This is what will lead people to Christ. Charlie has truly demonstrated his courage and genuineness in speaking the truth with love and grace, with humility.
This is a wakeup call for Christians! The Judeo-Christian foundation of our land has been cracked and infiltrated with secularism. Jesus has warned us that if we love Jesus, the world will hate us. James also warned us: “Friendship with the world is enmity with God.” (James 4:4) In his short life of thirty-one years, Charlie Kirk has woken up many individuals, especially among the younger generation. This is probably why he was targeted. Yes, even in America we could still be martyred. So this is a real wake up call for all Christians who live in America. We are not exempt from what the early Christians faced or what current-day Christians in “persecuted countries” face! In fact, we have been persecuted for a long while now, and it is time to wake up.
This is also a wakeup call for Christian parents! More than ever before, Christian parents are challenged to raise their children to be set apart from the world and to not be conformed to the world. Are our children being taught the truth at their schools, or are they being “[taken] captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)?
Let all of us treasure every moment with our family members and children, especially when they are young! May God be with Charlie Kirk’s wife and their two young children. No other person and no material possession in the world can replace the loss they now experience.
Finally, it is a wake up call for everyone to know that our hope is found only in God! No “…-isms” can solve the problem; the only solution is found at the Old Rugged Cross. May we all pause tonight, be silent before Almighty God, repent of our sins and turn to Christ (for we do not know if there will be a tomorrow), and call upon God to heal our land!
Charlie Kirk has fallen asleep in Christ, but his life will continue to inspire and awaken many Christians and many in the generations to come. He has “fought the good fight, has finished the race, and has kept the faith. “ (2 Timothy 4:7) It is for us who are still alive to continue to “fight the good fight and keep the faith” until we finish our race!
