Charlie Kirk’s death has stirred many responses.

In moments like this, I come back to the simplicity of what Jesus has already revealed so clearly about the Father’s nature.

I don’t know what grieves me more—people celebrating Charlie’s death, or Christians saying that God allowed (permitted), caused, or partnered with it.

Both are tragic, but one carries a deeper danger—because it distorts how we see the Father Himself.

God is not complicit in death. He is a good Father. And a good Father does not partner with an enemy. He redeems what the enemy means for evil, but He never authors it.

The God who weeps with us does not wound us.

The enemy doesn’t have to defeat us if he can distort our view of God.

This is why Satan’s greatest weapon isn’t only death—it’s deception about who God really is.

Jesus called him “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And one of his greatest lies is that God is somehow complicit in the works of darkness.

Isaiah warned: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

When we say that God permitted or partnered in acts of evil, we’re calling evil good, and ascribing the works of darkness to Father.

Woe.

“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

God is holy and just, He doesn't partner with darkness and evil. Instead, He conquers darkness with light.

God will never contradict Himself, but He will challenge our interpretations and understanding of His nature.

• Hebrews 1:3 tells us Jesus is “the exact representation of God’s being.”

• John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but now the one and only Son has made Him known.”

• Jesus Himself declared, “No one knows the Father except the Son” (Matt. 11:27).

This means Jesus is the only one qualified to explain the Father to us. Not our traditions, not our experiences, only the Person of Truth—Jesus.

Even the Pharisees searched the scriptures diligently, yet still missed the One the scriptures were pointing to (John 5:39–40).

It reminds us that it’s possible to be “biblical” and still miss Jesus.

That’s why our theology must begin with Jesus—the Author and Finisher of our faith—and not us trying to fit Jesus into our theology.

If our theology paints a picture of the Father taking life, while Jesus gives it, our theology is fractured—and a kingdom divided cannot stand.

If death were God’s will, then Jesus worked against His Father His entire ministry—healing, restoring, and destroying death with life.

But the Son does not contradict the Father. He reveals Him.

Analogy

It’s like blaming the sun for shadows.

Shadows appear when something blocks the light—but the sun itself has never stopped shining.

Religion, trauma, and tradition can cast shadows that distort how we see God. But Jesus is the full light, revealing the Father with no distortion.

“To see what God is like, look at Jesus. God is Christlike, and in Him is no un-Christlikeness at all.” — Michael Ramsey

• God redeems what the enemy means for evil, but He never causes or collaborates with it.

• The thief kills; the Father gives life (John 10:10).

• Death is an enemy, not His teammate (1 Cor. 15:26).

The gospel is not God taking life to make a point. The gospel is God giving His Son so we might live.

This is not about softening scripture, but about seeing all of scripture through Jesus, who is the whole counsel of scripture in the flesh—the Living Word. It's actually taking scripture more seriously.

It takes humility, courage, and childlikeness to admit: "I have believed things about the Father that Jesus never revealed."

Jesus—God fully revealed—never murdered to teach a lesson. He healed, restored, and even raised the dead to reveal the Father’s goodness.

Yes, we live in a fallen world, there is a real enemy, and we will face persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). But none of this means God is orchestrating suffering or death. Instead, He redeems it—because He is good.

And that's why we can "count it all joy when we face various trials" (James 1:2), because He is with us in them—not against us.

Jesus is not the “nice” side of God—He is God. He came to show us exactly what the Father is like.

The cross forever proves that God is for us, not against us. The enemy distorts, but Jesus clarifies.

The Godhead is not divided. Jesus didn’t change God—He revealed Him perfectly and completely.

“If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Jesus is King.

So how do we reconcile verses that say God struck people down with Jesus—who never killed, only healed? And just as important—how do we reconcile the Jesus who never killed with passages that claim God did?

That's part of the journey.

I've been on it. I've blogged about it. But we can't even begin that journey until we first let Jesus be the full revelation of the Father, let go of any traditions or interpretations that divide the Godhead, and then allow Jesus to lead us into all truth—just as He promised (John 16:13).

In the same way that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures” on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:45), He offers to do the same for us. But we have to let Him—and that takes humility and courage.

God is better than we think—Jesus proved it. Our challenge is believing it.

1. How have I let traditions, experiences, or pain cast “shadows” over my view of the Father—when Jesus is the full light revealing Him with no distortion?

2. Do I truly believe that God is never complicit in death, but only redeems it—and if so, how does that reshape the way I interpret Scripture, suffering, or loss?

3. In moments of tragedy, am I quick to let my theology explain the pain, or do I first let Jesus—the exact representation of the Father—reveal God’s heart to me?

• Want to know if you're following tradition or the Person of Truth? Take the FREE God Lens test here

• What about Job? Read here

• "God Allowed It" – The Phrase Twisting God's Goodness. Read here

• Death: Not God's Tool, Never His Will. Read here

• How To Read The Bible With & Through Jesus. Read here

Bless you,

Lee