A widow’s grace: Forgiveness in the face of evil

Thousands upon thousands of words were used last Sunday afternoon in Arizona during the Memorial Service in memory of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA.  Many high-ranking public officials filled the front row seats in the arena, including President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance.
However, the largest group of people present were regular men and women, ordinary Americans, exceeding 75,000.  Many millions of interested people watched on television and through internet services around the world.
Vice President J. D. Vance said in essence, I have never felt comfortable talking in the public arena about my faith — my Christian faith.  He further stated something like this, I have expressed more public thoughts about my faith in Jesus Christ over the last two weeks than I have in the rest of my life.  Wow!  There is no telling how many elected officials across this nation thought, “He just described me and my reluctance to express my faith in the public square.”
Why would good men and women elected to public office hesitate to express thoughts about their faith or religious affiliations?  Why would good and faithful ministers hesitate to encourage their parishioners, from the pulpit, to consider the faith characteristics of those seeking elected offices?   There are many possible answers to such questions, but let’s consider the foundational answer.
Satan is the father of all lies, and by his influence, he has deceived many good people into believing that the Founders of our Constitutional Republic established a hard, impenetrable wall between church and state.
That deception is based on a true principle that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion….”  Thus, with deliberate and cunning precision, he has used the First Amendment to convince many that even acting on religious belief, in the public square, constitutes the “establishment” of a certain religion.
Thus, it has become taboo to express one’s faith, especially one’s Christian faith, in the public square.  That standard has been viciously enforced by the “cancel culture” of the “left.”  It is amazing how those who demand tolerance do so in such an intolerant way.
The “establishment clause” in our Constitution has been totally misrepresented with the convincing words “separation of church and state.”  So, schools being classified as entities of “the state,” we have accepted the false premise that prayers in schools constitute a violation of the “separation of church and state.”
Additionally, the courthouse, the post office, and state and federal buildings, being part of the government, must not display anything religious in nature.  How ridiculous.  How sad.  The United States of America was founded in large measure by valiant, though admittedly, sometimes sinful, imperfect Christian men and women.
Even Jesus himself did not mandate the establishment of the Christian religion.  He just invited all to, “Come, follow me.”
Accolades upon accolades were expressed in sincere efforts to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk from his humble beginnings to his magnificent successes.  There was a somber yet joyful spirit that projected itself through all the cameras used to relay the memorial service to the world. Many excellent thoughts were presented, but a simple three-word statement astonished everyone everywhere: “I forgive him.”
With those three words, Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, obviously with great forethought and a genuine conviction to begin to forgive the young man who assassinated her husband, identified her most cherished identity.  With those words, she declared I am a Christian. The audience, although stunned by her unselfish charity, rose in unison and joyfully applauded her Christ-like willingness to forgive the unforgivable.
Maybe, just maybe, we are now blessed and privileged to witness the beginning of “a revival” this nation has needed for many, many years.  For far too long, very clever efforts by Satan have deceived otherwise good men and women into polluting Christian religious thought with Godless secularism.
We, the people, should make sure that neither we nor our government is ever separated from the love of God and the Atonement of His Son for our sins.