Sweet Will Be The Flower

Sorrow and faithfulness when the world shifts

One week ago, the world shifted a little bit, and I know I’m not the only one who feels it.

For posterity, last week Charlie Kirk, was murdered. It has hit me harder than I would have expected and it’s difficult to explain why. Part of it is the burden I always feel for the family when tragic events happen, but it’s not just that. There are those events in history when we can look back and see that some public sense of innocence was lost, and this is one of those times. Historically, the country tends to come together after a national tragedy, and though I’m not really surprised to see that isn’t happening, it doesn’t lessen the disappointment.

I remember September 11th, and those glorious days when the entire country came together as one. It didn’t last terribly long, but I love that we had that shining moment when we could see what national unity looked like.

This time is not like that, and it hurts. I don’t go out and see in a stranger’s face that they are just as stunned as me - instead, we all kind of tiptoe around each other. I’m uneasy with the thought that maybe the person sorting the library books or bagging the groceries is secretly an online ghoul who celebrates the death of an innocent countryman.

There is sorrow hanging over my head for such a promising man cut down too soon, but I think the heaviness is from grief - for the country I had secretly hoped we still were.

But it’s not all as depressing as that. I open my phone and see that there are some consequences for those that rejoice at murder. Public shaming for wicked behavior isn’t totally dead, which I count as a good thing. I’ve read many articles that reflect my own sorrow and unease, and it helps to know I’m not alone. There are a flood of people recommitted to attending church, speaking up for their faith, being better husbands and fathers, and not letting this tragedy be for nothing.

It reminds me of a verse I once declared my “life verse”, at the tender age of twelve before I really knew what life was like. But I read it now and think twelve year old me didn’t make too bad of a choice:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28

This verse isn’t saying that everything that happens to us will be good. It’s saying that everything - victories, successes, tragedies, and sorrows - will be worked together for the good of those who love God. Each event, even painful ones, are woven together into a tapestry for His sovereign purposes, which are always good and right.

My own children put me to shame this week. We read Proverbs 2 during our morning time and discussed how the fear of the Lord keeps us from the way of evil - from those who rejoice in doing evil and in the perversity of the wicked. It was a timely discussion. They asked if Kirk’s assassin was caught, and they nodded their heads in agreement when they learned he would probably get the death penalty, knowing that would be right.

And then they bowed their heads and prayed for the Kirk family - and they also prayed that the assassin would be saved before his execution. They prayed that this evil murderer would repent, when I had barely thought to pray for such a thing through my indignation. Their innocent understanding of God’s justice and mercy, and their trust in His plan, was beautiful to behold.

It doesn’t really make sense from an earthly perspective. Wicked men perpetuate wicked deeds against the innocent - how can that be for good? How can a good God allow these awful things to happen, even to His own? It’s a hard question. The answer may never be ours to know on this earth. But as an old hymn reminds us, God is His own interpreter.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour:
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own Interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

-William Cowper

Through the eyes of faith and Scripture, we understand that we all are wicked at heart, and we all justly deserve death for our sin. But Jesus, the Son of God who never sinned, died in our place. He took our punishment, bore our sins and nailed them to the cross. He rose again, and when we turn to Him in repentance, He likewise takes our dead hearts and raises them to life. Each day we live here is an opportunity to live for Him, and we know that though the world may take everything we have - even our lives - they can’t snatch us out of Christ’s hand.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32

Kirk knew that too, and now He is in the presence of God, experiencing the ultimate working out of all things for our good. What happened was horrible and awful, and says something dark about our country. But this world is not all there is, and we know the deaths of His saints are precious to God. Our good God holds all things in His hand, and He will make all things right someday.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I have read several posts encouraging us to honor Kirk by being faithful in the things that God has set before us, and living our lives with courage and boldness for the word of God, and not being afraid to share the gospel. I agree with that sentiment.

For me, that looks like baking bread for my hungry children, bringing a meal to a friend who is dealing with an illness, being consistent with reading the Bible and praying with my kids, hugging my husband a little tighter. It means practicing speaking kindly and respectfully to each other, reading books about Christian history and martyrs who died for the faith, learning how to study Scripture faithfully, communicating biblical truths clearly so we can tell others too. It means having the grandparents over for dinner, and turning off the commentators to have the space to just think as I walk with my kids in the sunshine.

So we strive for excellence in everything we do, even in the ordinary things, for the glory of the One who defeated death so that we may live. And we praise His name.