Less than two weeks after her husband was assassinated during one of his famous outdoor dialogues with thousands of college students, Erika Kirk delivered a speech with themes of forgiveness, faith and how to respond to violence at Charlie Kirk’s memorial on Sunday.
The memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, including an overflow section, was attended by an estimated 95,000, according to Turning Point USA.
Conservatives have praised Erika Kirk’s speech as strong, emotionally powerful, faith-driven and graceful.
She expressed forgiveness for Charlie Kirk’s killer. Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson, of St. George, Utah, has been detained and charged.
“I forgave him … because it’s what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do,” Kirk said. “The answer is not to hate … love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
“She could really be the person that brings this country together,” Jon Root, a culture commentator, said on American Family Radio Monday.
“It’s one of those situations where your jaw should hit the floor, and that's only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only a Christ follower could, just 11 days after your husband is ripped away, a father is ripped away from your kids, say you forgive them and say it wholeheartedly,” Root told show host Jenna Ellis.
Attendees were visibly moved with many in the crowd crying while rising to applaud, according to reports.
Erika Kirk was appointed CEO and chair of the TPUSA board last week. It was a wish Charlie Kirk had expressed multiple times to board members in the event something happened to him.
Now it has. Will Charlie Kirk’s life and message leave a lasting impact for Jesus Christ?
“People want to use the term revival. I think there are plenty of aspects where we can say that's happening. There's a call for forgiveness and a nation turning back to Christ. Satan and those that follow him meant for evil. God has turned it for good, and we saw so yesterday. The centerpiece of that goodness was obviously Erica Kirk,” Root said.
That impact showed up in at least one social media user Sunday evening.
“I was deeply moved by the words shared at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. For too long, I’ve drifted, put my faith on the backburner and strayed from the Word of God, but seeing the legacy Charlie left – one rooted in truth, conviction and boldness for the gospel – has stirred something in me I can’t ignore. Today, I make it clear: I’m surrendering fully to Jesus Christ,” wrote Ryan Fournier, the national chairman of Students for Trump.
In a second social media post, Muslim-turned-agnostic Sana Ebrahimi wrote she was moved by the celebratory mood of the memorial service. "...Even though death is heavy and this was by nature a sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that honored life," she wrote.
She contrasted that mood with Islam and its beliefs about God and the afterlife. Not only is Islam rooted in fear of God and judgement, she wrote, Islam teaches a "first night in the grave," when it's unknown if you go to Heaven.
Ebrahimi also wrote she was "profoundly moved" by Erika Kirk's words about forgiving her husband's murderer. "That is powerful beyond words," she wrote.
"What you witnessed was not Erika but the work of Christ in her life," one X user replied. "She is able to forgive her enemies because Christ forgave us first."
Don’t miss the point
In a fashion similar to 9-11, there is a spiritual awakening. With that comes a discipleship responsibility for the church, Erika Kirk said.
That’s a part of her address that’s being overlooked, Root said.
“She’s saying how the gospel is being heard by millions, and people are wanting to go to church," he observed. "They're opening their Bible for the first time, or they're going to church, or opening their Bible for the first time in a long time. And it's up to the Christians to help disciple them.”
Christians now have a responsibility to guide new believers to a local church, and the church has the responsibility for discipleship, Root said.
He takes encouragement in the awareness, but the moment should not be lost.
“This is a lifetime of obedience to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We want people to feel the peace that surpasses understanding, the fulfillment that you can't find in anything else as you surrender to Christ,” Root said.
