Choose Love and Always Love

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24

When I first heard about Charlie Kirk’s death, I had no idea who he was. I asked my husband, “Who is he?” I was surprised to learn he was just a 31-year-old young man, but since that fateful day, I have realized that he was quite a remarkable 31-year-old.

Last Sunday, I watched his memorial service, and I was in awe of what this young man managed to accomplish in such a short life. He was half my age, and he definitely made an impact in the lives of many people, young and old alike. Millions of people around the world were affected by his brutal killing, whether they agreed with his message or not.

He definitely had a mission, and he fulfilled it fearlessly. His mission was partly political and partly spiritual. I’m going to focus my thoughts on the spiritual aspect, because I believe that the biggest impact Charlie had was that he chose to honor Jesus no matter what others said about him. I don’t think it was the political aspect of his mission that brought almost 100,000 people to his funeral. They came to pay their respects because of Charlie’s unapologetic faith in Jesus Christ.

As a mother and grandmother, I have been very concerned about the fact that the youth have been turning away from God. However, after listening to testimony after testimony of the people that knew Charlie Kirk, for the first time in a long time, I felt a ray of hope.

Dr. Ben Carson mentioned that Charlie was assassinated at exactly 12:24 p.m. He then read John 12:24, which says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Dr. Carson said that “When martyrs die, the cause of Jesus advances.” I agree with him. Many martyrs have died for Jesus, beginning with John the Baptist, who was beheaded for speaking about Jesus. Two speakers at the memorial, Benny Johnson and Donald Trump Jr., talked about St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. St. Stephen was the same age as Charlie was when he was killed for his Christian faith. His death advanced Christianity more rapidly than ever before. Even his killer, Saul of Tarsus, converted and changed his name to Paul. He would go on to become another martyr for Jesus. Even though he never met Jesus personally like the other apostles, Paul is revered by the Catholic Church as one of the two greatest apostles. The other one is Peter, our first Pope. We can credit St. Paul with writing the majority of the New Testament, and he wrote it while being imprisoned.

All these martyrs have one thing in common with Charlie Kirk. They were not afraid of their enemies, and they were unapologetic about their message. They all gave their lives for speaking the truth. Over and over, I heard testimony after testimony say that Charlie was armed with truth and courage. “All courage requires is a YES,” was Charlie’s motto. “You win hearts with truth.” Well, he has certainly won my heart and the hearts of many, especially the youth in college campuses around the country. “It’s the truth that sets us free. It’s the truth that keeps us free.” He brought the light of truth to dark places. Yes, in those dark places, many hated him too, but in Charlie’s words, “The answer to hate is love.” I have hope that just like it happened with all the martyrs before him, Charlie’s death will have a tremendous impact on our world today, especially with the young generations.

When I heard his wife, Erika Kirk, say that she forgives the man that killed her husband, I was in tears. She is following her husband’s footsteps by choosing love instead of hate. “The answer to hate is not hate; the answer, we know from the gospel, is love and always love,” she said. “Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. And most importantly, choose Christ.” I pray that Charlie’s killer may convert the hatred in his heart to love.

Just like all the martyrs, Charlie Kirk ran the race. He finished the fight. St. Stephen had a vision before his death where Jesus was standing next to the Father, welcoming him into paradise. I am sure Jesus was also standing next to the Father, waiting to welcome Charlie into paradise with these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

May we, like Charlie Kirk, have the courage to spread God’s Word all over the world. We are being persecuted today, just like Christians were persecuted 2,000 years ago for speaking the truth. But we cannot allow fear to stop us. We must stand for Jesus always, no matter what. In memory of Charlie Kirk, in memory of all martyrs that have given their lives for Jesus Christ since John the Baptist, we must choose Christ. May today be our turning point when we choose “love and always love.”

Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved. If you thought of someone while reading this, bless them by sharing it with them.