The Glory of Man, or The Glory of God.

15 Sept

A Reflection on the Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk

Charlie was a Christian apologist, university evangelist, political activist, and now martyr who was shot in the neck and killed on Wednesday September 10th 2025.

An invisible wave and a penetrating light.

On Thursday morning, September 11th 2025, I woke up to see urgent prayer requests being posted on every media outlet and channel; requesting prayer for Charlie Kirk, a Christian apologist, preacher, and university evangelist - who had been shot in the neck towards the end of a rally in Utah. Not too long after this, I was sitting in a cafe with a friend and he told me the news: “Charlie Kirk has been killed.” I was stunned.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard. I then saw it confirmed through several channels. It was like an invisible wave had crashed over me and I was being tossed about by the force this new knowledge for the rest of the day; in fact - for several days following the wake of the news. This violent and unseen wave kept turning me over because of the residual force it carried with it.

I wept.

Or, I cried continually at least. Although I wasn’t standing at the tomb of a friend I knew or grew up with; although I hadn’t really kept up with his content or followed him closely, I was wrecked by the news. But why? Tragic things happen every day. There have been mass shootings, and travesties committed that I have become aware of, and that I lamented to hear about, but none of which had unraveled me in the way that Charlie Kirk’s assasination did. What was it about the death of this young man that affected me so?

All over the world, I’ve heard people say that they have been affected in similar ways. Those who aren’t believers are describing it as “the crossing of an invisible line.” I believe that what we’ve seen and felt, is a wave of witness from the Holy Spirit - that this death was different. Not different in the way that makes other assassinations, or murders invalid or less important. It was different in terms of what it meant. It was different in its level practical, and spiritual significance. The Holy Spirit bore witness around the World, that something changed the moment Charlie fell.

All of the courgage in that man’s soul, poured out from him one last time as his spirit was carried by the angels up to God. The blood from the neck of Charlie Krik, that poured out with such velocity onto the ground in Utah, cried out to God from the dust. That sound was then carried immediately by the Holy Spirit and projected into the spiritual ears of milllions around the world; a sound that could not be turned down or muted.

The Holy Spirit was and is grieving, and the children of God especially, have been brought to grief too.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
Genesis 4:9-10 Esv

“What is your Word on this O Lord?”

On Thursday this week, the voice of the martyrs in heaven was strengthened demanding justice and vengeance from the Lord. I have pondered on what I should say, think, and feel. What was I to preach? What was I to emphasise?

I realised that one of the reasons I was moved so much was because of a confrontation with the true nature of reality; the reality that we don’t have a lot of time and that the sun is setting faster than many of us would like it too. Here was a man who loved God, his family, and his country (in that order) who had just been killed for doing the one thing every Christian has been commanded to do - go into all the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples of all nations. He had two young children and a devoted wife and was still prepared to go, to speak, and to enter into the frey; to leave the ninety nine and bring back the lost one.

In preparation to preach this past Sunday, I felt drawn to John chapter twelve. In particular verses 42-43.

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
John 12:42-43 Esv

If there was one thing that I think Charlie modelled it was loving the glory of God more than the glory that comes from man. He was not perfect man - there has only ever been one perfect man - Jesus Christ. That said, he was someone who lived in view of the glory of God and he loved it, more than many.

Our Issue is a Glory Issue.

I think perhaps that there has never been such a threat to missions, and to the globalisation of worship for the Lamb, such as the love of the glory of man. What people will think of us, is a greater threat to our witness than any shooter on a rooftop. We are more easily taken out, or set back; we are more easily silenced and our windpipes shattered, by the bullet inscribed, “the glory and praises of man” than we are the cosmic forces of evil. Now, we must understand that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We have a battle and it’s not with the physical primarily. Our fallen nature loves the glory that comes from man, but it is still Satan who lays it in a place where we can almost taste it. Like the mouse that loves cheese and happens upon it, the trap is set by another - an adversary that is unseen.

We so quickly forget that Jesus was tempted and assailed by the Devil in his second recorded temptation on this very point - on the glory that comes from man; something which evidently - Satan has temporary control over.

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
Luke 4:5-8 Esv

If God ordains praise from the mouths of the innocent, then Satan counterfeits with the temptation to ordain praise towards us through the mouths of the wicked. We should not be surprised at this.

“They loved the glory of man more than the glory of God.” If this had been true of our Lord then we would have been totally lost. Christ however, loved only one glory - the glory of God; the glory of his Father.

Your Mouth Is A Fountain of Glory

We should not be surprised that when the scriptures speak about glory there is a connection to speaking or the mouth.

In psalm 16 David says:

I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
Psalm 16:8-9 Esv.

Now you’ll notice in your bible if you’re reading in the ESV, that there is a foot note against the phrase “my whole being” and if you’ll follow and find that footnote, you will see that the Hebrew word there in Psalm 16 means “my glory.” The glory of a person is found in their tongue; what they say and who they exault. David had said in the previous verse (7),- “I bless the Lord who gives me council.” He was exaulting and glorifying God with his mouth in this P

Derek Prince points out that in Acts 2:26, Peter quotes this same passage, and under the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit says,

“therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.”
Acts 2:26 Esv (emphasis added).

The glory is in the tongue. That is why the authorities belived and would not confess it - they withheld glory because they wanted to retain/keep the glory they recieved from others due to their prominent positions.

The Glory of Man and The Love of The Self.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self…
2 Timothy 3:1-2

Do you love what people say about you, more than what God says about you? That is convicting and somewhat rhetorical question at the very centre of our lack of gospel witness. Of course we do. We love what people say, so we don’t say. We love what we hope others will say and think about us in our own minds.

We love what we want people to think, so we don’t share our thoughts. We care so much about the glory that comes from man in our culture today. We’re afraid of joining Him outside the gate. We love ourselves and the glory from man. How do I know that? Because we don’t speak.

“but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue”

If we are shut out from Jobs, we will speak - because we love the glory of man less than their need to be able to provide.

If we are shut out of their homes, we will speak - because we love the glory of man less than the comfort of their own home.

If an evil happens to a loved one, we will speak - because we love the glory of man less than the love we have for someone close to us.

But none of these things are particularly spiritual in and of themselves. What I mean by that is that the Devil is not driving the glory of man towards or away from people on account of any of these things. Christ is not innately at the centre of any of these things. It is the self.

It is the vision of our own futures which is at stake, not the glory of Christ.

It is our benefit that we feel is being robbed in many instances, not the glory of Christ.

People are not afraid of speaking up when it comes to defending themselves because, as a people, we have become lovers of ourselves. We idolize the self and will vilify the one who attacks our vision for it. We love the glory that comes from man and not the glory that comes from God because we crave what comes from man; affirmations of our greatness. We greatly desire to be greatly desired.

People marched in the streets during Covid 19 for perfecly good reasons. There was huge curruption that occured and people lost their jobs, lives, homes, and loved ones. Many voices cried out because we wanted to defend our rights. Fair enough. It was a march and a proclamation that the self had been violated, but it was not a loss for the sake of Christ for most. Now to be clear, I am not saying that these things should not have been defended. Free speech, freedom of choice, freedom of future are all good things to a large extent. Even now with Charlie’s death, people are rallying behind freedom of choice and speech as their primary mission. I am only saying that it was not a battle for Christ that was largely being fought. One did not need to be a Christian to want to refuse an untested drug. One didn’t need to be Christian in New Zealand to think that the mandates were wrong or that people shouldn’t lose their jobs, homes, or businesses - or lives.

The issue that Christ is at the centre of, primarily, is whether or not He is Lord to you and whether or not you love the affirmations of people, more than the affirmation of God. If you cry out because you love your life or yourself - that is not the same as witnessing for Jesus.

Now, that being said. If those things are being threatened or taken away, the way in which we repond will be a witness for Jesus. But those two things are not the same.

The Calling To Speak

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
John 12:44

Jesus cried out in the very next verse, but it was not in protection of himself that he cried out, but to accomplish the Father’s purpose. The self was not at the centre of the outcry for Jesus. It was the will and glory of his Father.

That seems to me to be the primary witness of the Holy Spirit in the death of Charlie Kirk. His death was a death on account of his willingness to be shut out because he loved the glory that comes from God. He loved a vision of receiving the future affirmation of Jesus, “well done my good and faithful servant” more than the present and fading affirmations of his contemporaries. When he was asked (only recently in June), what is the most important thing he wanted people to remember about him if he died, he said without hesitation:

“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith, that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith.”

We are called to be an expert, defender, voice for, and advocate of our faith, above any other thing. Yes he spoke politically and passionately. He was a nationalist. He was a patriot. But there was no question for his listeners about what his message was. He knew his government was corrupt and he fought to change it for the better and to get the right people elected. He didn’t turn a blind eye, or walk the other way. But his mandate was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ first; to love God first. To seek the Kingdom of God first. Most are not able to keep the main thing the main thing and our message gets lost in some other agenda.

He was one of the rare examples of one who hated evil as the result of loving God and not as a result of loving the self under threat.

I heard him quote Psalm 97:10 as a key thought that motivated him in what he was doing. “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!” But let us not get mixed around. We do not hate evil and then spend time loving the Lord. This is the mistake of too many Christains today. Point out faults, flaws, and errors, has never been our primary mandate. We are told to “expose evil deeds” one might say (thinking of Ephesians 5:11). They spend their lives exposing evil, they love God with left over energies. But it is the love of God that makes one hate evil the right way. Paul first spends a good deal of time encouriging the Ephesians that he is praying for them to know the love of God.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19 (emphasis added)

We are to know the love of God intimately, and deeply, and then to expose the deeds of darkness. We are not called to know the deeds of darkness intimately, and on all occasions. We build our love for the Lord first, and out of that Love and the knowing of that love - we grow a natural hatred for evil. We hate what grieves the one we love.

Love is the very first thing, and our love of God is our only true excuse to hate evil. Love for God demands that we hate certain things. We do not hate people, we hate evil. We hate what God hates. We hate wickedness. We hate the parnership of people with evil.

The psalmist did not say, “let those who love their own lives, hate evil.” Anyone can hate an evil that comes to assault their way of life. But there is a hatred that comes from righteousness, and it is borne from the Love of God and not the love of self.

Charlie cried out against evil not because he had an agenda against evil or wanted to protect his own lifestyle or way of living. He cried out because he loved God.

What we glory in, is seen in what we speak about. The man or woman who loves their business will always find a way to speak about his business. The woman who is excited for her weekend plans with her friends will always find a way to share her excitement. The man who knows that rugby is coming will find a way to speak about it with other men.

We glory in what we love.

That is; we speak about and exalt in our speech our treasure. Silent Christians are loveless Christians - there is no love for and of God in the heart of the one who loves the world (1 John 2:15). Silent Christians are treasureless Christians. There is no treasure inside their vessel of clay which comes from heaven.

The one who speaks in the hope of keeping their life, hopes for a day when their life will be protected from outside forces and they will be left alone; no longer subdued by the power of another. This is perfectly human dream, and a worthy ambition in the eyes of most.

The one who speaks in the hope of glorfying Christ, has their hope set on a day when they recceive an untouchable inheritance from God.

The Cowards and The Criers

It is time to do away with our desires for the better life that we imagined for ourselves. Most of our hurt and frustration comes from a feeling that we deserved more and got less. But a seed that is ready to die, is not unhappy when they die. That is the purpose for which the seed falls into the ground.

The Christian speaks a message that primarily benefits Christ and not them.

There is a sniper on the rooftops today that has your voicebox in sight, and it’s not the government, or Jacinda who is hiding under a rock somewhere at present. It is the carnal version of you up there of the roof top. Most of us, knowingly or unknowingly have planned to assassinate the witness of the one we’re called to be.

Peel off the balaclava and you’ll see your own face, wanting your silence. That is because the version of you, the one which speaks for Christ doesn’t care about the home, their income, or perhaps even the loss of life. The one who needs to be silenced by the carnal version of ourselves is bold for Christ and loves the glory of God more than the glory of man. The carnal version of you cannot co-exsist with a glorified Christ in you, because in order for Christ to be lifted - we must join him in the dirt. We must be where our master is (see John 12:24-26). We must fall into the ground. We must today decide who lives and who dies. It is the witness for Jesus who dies today, or is the future version of ourselves where people lavish us with praise because of our earthly success.

It is a version of you who loves your life and loves the things of this world. Your own love of affirmation and inclusion will silence your willingness to speak and confess the name of Christ. Our desire for affirmation will kill the godly men and women we’re called to be, who are prepared to lay ourselves down for the cause of Christ. We have a choice to love the glory that comes from God and abide forever, or love the glory that comes from man. We are saved by faith alone, but the word faith means allegiance, and allegiance demands a voice that cries out.

Let me take you to John’s Revelation to show you the future of the coward.

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revevaltion 21:5-8

The cowardly will be the first to perish on the last day.

Let us consider this fact, that before the murderer is thrown into the lake of fire, before God commands his angels to drag into flame all witches and wizards, before he hurls all liars into the pit, and anyone who gave themselves to sexually immoral is given to the second death, the first ones to be cast from the site and presence of God are the cowardly. That should tell you that above all things such as these that God despises and hates, is the one who knows what they should do, and yet does not do it; the one whose heart knows, but whose mouth stays shut; the one who loves the glory of man more than the glory of God.

Charlie may have been many things, we cannot know from afar. But one thing is absolutuly clear, he was not a coward. He loved God and hated evil. He loved the glory of God and cried out.

The coward - one who will not speak - is among the first to be thrown out of the Kingdom. Whilst the couragous - the martyr (witness) whose voice is silenced - is among those who are first to see it fully come.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6 Esv

The Dead Do Not Fear Dying.

And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 12:23-26 Esv (emphasis added)

Look around my dear friends. If we are too alone. If we do not see fruitfulness in our lives, it is because we have not yet died to the future version of ourselves that we crave or begun to truely serve Christ.

Why are many of us remaining alone and not making disciples? Because we are afraid to die; we are afraid to fall into the ground. This is a perfectly natural thing. Many people are afraid of being forgotten or of going into the dark places but true light does not fear the dark.

Where is that place that the disciple of Jesus must follow him into?

Where is that place, where the servant of Jesus must also be?

Fallen into the ground with him.

The father honours the one who serves the son, who joins him outside the camp (Hebrews 13:13). God will honour every person who joins Jesus in the dust.

The bullet from the assassin’s gun did not kill Charlie on Wednesday this past week. Every piece of reporting on the issue has been wrong - Charlie did not die on Wednesday. He died on the cross with his Lord. Charlie was brutally murdered two thousand years ago on Calvary.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4 Esv

It is only the living who fear death. The dead do not fear dying. When you were baptised into Christ and became a member of his body through faith producing obedience, you died with Christ. Now we can say with Paul:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galations 2:20 Esv

Concluding remarks.

If you’ve been living silently for Christ today is the day that Christ calls out to you and says “follow me - be where I am.” If you’re ashamed of Christ He will be ashashed of you. What does that mean? Very simply, if you do not speak for him - he will not speak for you. (see Matthew 10:33).

Arn’t we all called to different things?

Yes, in a specific sense we are. However, we are all called generally to the commission of spreading the word of Christ everywhere we go.

Paul wrote to Corith in his letter entitled 2 Corinthians and spoke about being a witness for Christ as an apostle. By speaking in Christ, and before God, Paul says that the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ was being spread everywhere. Seeing and hearing people witness to Christ, just like Charlie did, is and was a sweet smelling aroma to those who are being saved. There are others who heard his words - those perishing - who thought it smelled like death.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Esv (emphasis added)

Speaking is the spreading of Christ’s fragrance.

When we come home after a long day, the smell of home makes us feel relaxed and settled. That is what we feel when we are being saved and we hear someone is witnessesing to Christ - spreading the fragrance of heaven. If you hate the one who speaks, maybe you’re perishing and do not know it; maybe you’re outside the temple and not inside where the insense rises before God. The one outside smells death, but the one inside smells something beautiful.

In Christ - We Speak - Before God.

God is watching. We speak because we love the affirmations of God. We stay silent because we love the praises of people. Either we desire that Christ be desired and loved, or we desire that we would be desired and loved. Which will it be?

To everyone who thinks there is no persecution in the West and that suffering for Christ happens somewhere else.

No. You might just be a coward who needs to plead with God for the boldness of the Holy Spirit.

Praise God for Charlie. Praise God for his voice.

See you soon brother.

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Biblical References

Other References

Catholic News Agency. 2025. “Charlie Kirk before death: ‘I want to be remembered for courage for my faith.’” CNA: Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266523/charlie-kirk-before-death-i-want-to-be-remembered-for-courage-for-my-faith.

Prince, Derek. n.d. “Your Tongue Is Your Glory: Does Your Tongue Need Healing?” Derek Prince Ministries. Accessed 09 13, 2025. https://www.derekprince.com/devotionals/c-t085-030.

Jesse Ryan Herschell