True Grace

True Grit

In the 1969 award winning film “True Grit”, the lead female character is named Mattie Ross. The plot of the movie is that this feisty young girl has come to Fort Smith to seek justice for her murdered father. She knows the identity of the criminal and is seeking to hire someone to bring him to justice. She ends up not only hiring U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn, played by John Wayne, but also accompanies him into the Indian territory to make sure the task is accomplished.

I guess if you haven’t seen the film this blog article could use a spoiler alert, but the movie is fifty-six years old so maybe not. 

While the story points to the courage, grit, and moral resolve of the young girl seeking justice, an observant viewer might also notice that it is not just justice, but also vengeance, which Mattie is seeking. At one point, Marshall Cogburn learns that there is a reward for catching the murderer, Tom Chaney, for another crime. He assumes that if he is hanged for that crime then justice is done the same as if he is hanged for killing Mattie’s father. But she rejects that notion and insists that Chaney must die for killing her father and not for some other crime. Of course, the result would be the same, but her sense of vengeance would not be assuaged. 

Of course this is a fictional story, but we live in a world with real crimes and sins. All human beings have some sense of justice. Even among thieves there are consequences for stealing. Even when someone seems to not care about the evil or vile things they do to others, they do care what evil things are done to them. The story of Mattie Ross is about a young woman with a legitimate grievance seeking justice and vengeance. But in today’s post I would like to consider the triumph of grace!

Erika Kirk

The memorial service for Charlie Kirk was held this past Sunday in Arizona. It was enormous beyond the scope of funerals for even kings and presidents. The whole service lasted over eight hours with multiple speakers including pastors, Christian apologists, many members of the Trump administration, even including both the Vice President and President Trump. I must admit that I have not gone back and invested the time to listen to all or even most of these remarks. But I did listen to remarks of Charlie Kirk’s young widow, Erika Kirk. I think her reflections are the weightiest and deepest regarding who her husband was and what his legacy should be.

She spoke lovingly about the kind and devoted husband that he was and also called husbands to emulate his example by loving and leading our own wives well. She also called on wives to be receptive and respectful of their husbands. She called on believers to grow and to maintain strong marriages and families. She denounced the evil and hate that ultimately brought about her husband's murder.

Most of all she gave testimony to her husband’s true faith in Jesus Christ. She then focused on Jesus on the cross and specifically His attitude toward those carrying out His brutal execution. Luke records that as Jesus was being crucified between the two criminals He prayed to the Father to forgive them because they were ignorant of what they were actually doing (Luke 23:33-34). Our Lord displayed the most selfless and amazing kind of mercy in His plea for His executioners.

Now I have heard many people speak about the fact that Charlie Kirk’s assasination has not served to silence his message but rather to promote it even more intensely, especially his emphasis on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Erika also made similar comments in her remarks. However, at this point when she had pointed to Jesus’ great example of mercy and grace, she addressed the “young man” who had murdered her husband and granted forgiveness. That is true and pure gospel on display. Those who have experienced the grace and mercy of God are those able to extend the grace and mercy of God. (Erika Kirk Forgiveness clip) 

Let this awesome portrait of genuine grace inspire us to proclaim the truth, pray for fruit, and praise the Lord!

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