The Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness
What Erika Kirk and Ilhan Omar Reveal About Two Kingdoms
A Public Contrast
Two voices came out after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. His widow, Erika, spoke of forgiveness. Ilhan Omar, on the other hand, spit on his name. She wanted his memory buried. One voice was the voice of true faith. The other, the voice of unbelief. This is about two kingdoms colliding in public.
Faith in Suffering
Christians are not called to bitterness in grief. We are called to faith. To not seek revenge when wronged. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44, LSB). This only comes from union with Christ.
From the cross, Christ prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34, LSB). That prayer was not blanket absolution but an appeal to the Father’s mercy, knowing some of those very enemies would later repent at Pentecost. Stephen echoed it as the stones struck, entrusting his persecutors to God’s judgment and mercy. What both show us is the posture of faith in suffering: not vengeance, but handing justice into God’s hands. Erika, through tears, displayed the same posture. It is not the denial of justice. It is refusing to answer evil with evil and leaving the final word to God.
Forgiveness of the repentant and not turning evil for evil is not pretending justice doesn’t matter. It is refusing personal revenge and handing the sword back to God. “Never take your own revenge… for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19, LSB). That is why the magistrate exists. “For it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Romans 13:4, LSB). Forgiveness and justice are not enemies. They belong together. They must both be upheld.
The Way of Unbelief
But unbelief has no Judge. If there is no God, there is no final accounting. So grief turns to rage. Sorrow becomes scorn. Vengeance must be taken in this life, because unbelief denies any reckoning after death. Death becomes a chance to erase the enemy’s name. That is what Ilhan Omar put on full display. Not correction. Not justice. But malice.
James is blunt: “This wisdom is… earthly, natural, demonic” (James 3:15, LSB). Where bitterness rules, there is disorder. This is slavery. And this is why we proclaim there is only one way to be set free.
Jesus said, “The good man brings forth what is good… the evil man brings forth what is evil” (Luke 6:45, LSB). The fruit shows the root. Grace produces forgiveness. It entrusts revenge to the Lord. Flesh produces rage. We saw it in plain sight.
A Point of Clarity
Forgiveness does not mean sin disappears. It does not mean we never weigh a man’s words. It does not forsake justice. Charlie Kirk, like all men, must be measured against Scripture. But mocking a dead man is evil. It is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. And that hatred reveals unbelief.
This moment has revealed the wickedness of Islam and that its end is the way of death.
The Church’s Test
The question is for us. What kind of Christians are we raising? Are we preparing households to grieve with hope? Or to grieve like the world: angry, bitter, and without Christ? Hebrews says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, LSB). Our grief must be sanctified. Our anger must be sanctified. Our actions must walk in the Light.
Closing Word
This assassination showed more than politics. It exposed hearts. One chose grace. The other chose bitterness. One looked to Christ. The other to the flesh.
Grace is the break in the cycle. It overcomes evil with good and proclaims the power of the gospel to the world.