What Do You Want To Be Remembered For?
On September 10, 2025, a prominent voice in the American conservative movement was silenced by an assasin's bullet. Charlie Kirk was the founder and driving voice behind TPUSA (Turning Point, USA), a nonprofit organization that promotes conservative values like free markets, limited government, traditional family, and love of God and country on high school and college campuses.
This wasn't the first time Kirk faced the threat of death, but it was ultimately the last (both literally and spiritually).
He had spoken to massive audiences on the world stage. He had become a friend and a confidante of some of the most powerful people in the US and around the world. He had grown a grassroots movement from a partnership with a handful of high school buddies to an international ministry with thousands of chapters on campuses both here and abroad. He is credited with having made the single greatest contribution for drawing young people into the conservative movement in modern history. He was a political powerhouse, a minister of the Gospel, a highly successful entrepeneur, a husband, and a father. And he accomplished it all before he even celebrated his 32nd birthday. He was, if nothing else, a classic over-achiever.
Yet when asked what he would most want to be remembered for, Kirk simply said ...
"I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing; [the] most important thing is my faith."
Whether you agree with some, all, or none of his talking points, we can all agree that it takes courage to speak what we believe and to stand on and for our conviictions.
You may not have a platform like Charlie Kirk's. You may not even like Charlie Kirk. But it's well worth asking yourself, "What do you most want to be remembered for?"
Do you share his heart to be remembered for the courage to boldly live and share your faith?
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you (John 15:18, ESV). "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV). "But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, ESV).
Speak boldly Christian! Cower not!
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10, ESV).
The Legacy of Forgiveness
Chrisitan author and writer for such publications as Our Daily Bread writes:
Five years after World War II ended, Marvin Maris met Taizo Fujishiro at a seminary in Chicago. Although the two had once been on opposing sides during the war, Maris remained a friend to Fujishiro. He prepared class notes for him, taught him how to drive, and invited him to celebrate Christmas together. After Taizo returned to Japan, they continued to stay in touch.
Forty years later, Maris’s granddaughter, Connie Wieck, went to Japan to teach English. She called Fujishiro and introduced herself. The next day they met for lunch. Taizo told her all about her grandfather, his first American friend.
Later Connie wrote: “Having grown up in a town where many veterans still carried deep pain … I never believed forgiveness could happen between people who were directly involved in such a dark history. Yet the friendship between my grandfather and Taizo proved otherwise.”
The apostle Paul described the miracle of salvation by writing, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). And John reminds us that those who have been forgiven must love their brothers and sisters (1 John 2:9-12).
The legacy of God’s forgiveness will be passed on from generation to generation if we humbly receive His gift of forgiveness in Christ and extend it to others.
Under His Wings
Vernon Grounds, American theologian and Christian educator, tells a story of Indian evangelist, Sundar Singh:
[Singh] once wrote about a forest fire in the Himalayan mountains that he witnessed while traveling. As many people were trying to put out the flames, a group of onlookers noticed a tree whose branches had begun to catch fire. A mother bird flew frantically in circles above the tree. Chirping in distress, she seemed to be seeking help for her chicks still inside the nest. As the nest began to burn, the mother bird did not fly away. Instead, she dove down and covered her little ones with her wings. In an instant, she and her chicks were consumed by the flames.
Singh then said to the people,
"We have just witnessed something extraordinary. God created a bird with such great love and devotion that it was willing to give its life to protect its young … "
Singh concluded,
That is the kind of love that made Him come down from heaven and become human. That love also made Him willing to suffer and die for all of us.”
This story stands as a remarkable illustration of Christ’s love for us. We too stand in awe as we reflect on the holy fire of judgment that burned upon Calvary. There Christ was willing to suffer and “bear our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).