Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of His Saints

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Psalm 116:15 helps to explain why the death of God’s saints, His called and chosen ones, is so precious to Him. He has lovingly directed their steps and orchestrated events throughout their entire lives – even knowing the intricate details of our sitting down and rising up (Psalm 139:2). From birth, to growth and maturity; from relationship building to opportunities for marriage and even the accumulation of wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), it is God who establishes us and directs our steps (Psalm 37:23) and gives us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). That future and that hope are not found in establishing our own kingdom here on Earth. They are discovered in ushering in the kingdom of God as His instruments and His voice to an unbelieving and perverse generation (Luke 9:41).  

This preciousness described by the Psalmist in Psalm 116 is a word that means something rare or costly. It is something of value. God values His peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). Their death is costly, because now one less voice proclaiming His truth has been removed from a world that desperately needs to hear the message of redemption, which we are sent out to announce (Matthew 28:19). The work of spreading the “Good News” is so precious that the feet of these godly messengers are seen as beautiful (Isaiah 52:7). So, when one of these precious saint’s voices is removed, one less voice is proclaiming God‘s glory, and one less faithful servant is pointing to the narrow path on which we must trod to achieve true riches (Luke 16:11). 

This is the dichotomy behind the tragic death of our brother Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s sudden and excruciating death has led to an incredible surge of interest in the church, as people return to the faith. Also, a greater passion has arisen for spreading the gospel to those who have not heard (Hallowell, 2025). We would do well to not simply remember the loss of our brother, but also to recognize the horrible genocide of precious Christian saints throughout the world, particularly in Nigeria (Annetta, 2025; Wright, 2025); in Syria (Sinjab, 2025); and in the Sudan (Persecution.org, 2025).

These are tender and rare saints, whose lives had so much to contribute to their nation and their culture as they spread the message of sacrificial love and redemption among even those who hated them. Meanwhile, God welcomed these faithful servants into His presence with great joy and rejoicing by the angels (Luke 15:10).

Those of us who are children of God do not live with a kind of depressing acceptance or resignation of the fate that will befall us. We see a light at the end of the tunnel, past the finality of death to everlasting life (John 3:16). Your perspective on dying depends on where you place your hope.

Jesus began His earthly ministry by teaching about and proclaiming “repentance” (Mark 1:15). His first message challenged the disciples and the surrounding crowds with the ultimate sovereignty of God, which causes us to sense our “poverty of spirit“ (Matthew 5:3). Once we sense the futility of striving here on Earth and mourn over our condition (Matthew 5:4), the Holy Spirit points us to the way out of such tragic, limited thinking. The Spirit steers us past bitterness to search for truth that is authentic. We must learn about God’s perspective (Matthew 5:5); then hunger and thirst for the truth for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

There are end goals and means goals in the Beatitudes passage. The end goals are what comes as the fruit of us adapting to a change of perspective in in what we place our hope. The means of this change is a trust in our Sovereign God’s plans so confidently that we are able to become peacemakers, and we are able to overcome attacks against us, which previously would have disabled us because of our bitter spirits (Matthew 5:7-11). This sums up well the life and message of God’s servant Charlie Kirk.

Charlie Kirk once said: “You can tell a lot about a person when someone dies” (Lemley, 2025). This “Beatitude perspective” is the means by which we can navigate this great and unexpected loss. These truths are blessings that accompany us down the path of grief, past bitterness and anger, with the offer of mercy towards our persecutors. Ultimately, those blessings will carry us on to our final victory. It might be hard for us to navigate this now, but God has promised to give us His Spirit to guide us all to truth (John 16:13).

One more truth is this: We know, when we believe in Christ, even though our bodies may die, we will truly live again (John 11:25). We will be welcomed at a precious reception and ushered into a greater joy than we can ever imagine in His presence (Psalm 16:11). Also, we will greet our precious friends and companions there on that distant but beautiful shore (Bennett, 1868).

Sources:

Annetta, S. (2025, October 7). The Silent Christian Genocide in Nigeria is Finally Being Exposed. Concerned Women for America: Legislative Action Committee [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://concernedwomen.org/the-silent-christian-genocide-in-nigeria-is-finally-being-exposed/.

Bennett, S.F. (1868). In The Sweet By and By. Hymnary.org [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://hymnary.org/text/theres_a_land_that_is_fairer_than_day_an.

Hallowell, B. (2025, October 9). ‘Absolutely insane:’ Pastor reveals unexpected impact of Charlie Kirk’s murder. The Washington Times [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/oct/9/charlie-kirks-assassination-started-spiritual-revival-pastor-mike/.

Lemley, C. (2025, September 18). Opinion: Reflections on the death of Charlie Kirk and our shared humanity. Amarillo Globe-News [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.amarillo.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2025/09/18/opinion-reflections-on-charlie-kirks-death-and-our-shared-humanity/86187928007/.

Persecution.org (2025, February 11). Genocidal Militia Continues to Persecute Christians Across Sudan. Persecution.org [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://persecution.org/2025/02/11/genocidal-militia-continues-to-persecute-christians-across-sudan/.

Sinjab, L. (2025, June 30). ‘We’re not safe here anymore’ – Syria’s Christians fear for future after devastating church attack. BBC News [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79q8p8qx1do.

Wright, K. (2025, August 26). Christian Genocide in Nigeria: 3 Million Believers Under Siege as Calls for US Intervention Mount. Christian Broadcast Network News [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://cbn.com/news/world/christian-genocide-nigeria-3-million-believers-under-siege-calls-us-intervention-mount.