To Die A Little

by Bro Philip Largas

Meditation: John 12:24

If you’ve been on social media these past several days as of this writing, you have probably already heard news that shook the world on September 10, 2025.

Charlie Kirk, a prominent voice of Christian Conservatism in the United States, along with his organization Turning Point USA organized the American Comeback Tour. Charlie spoke outside Utah Valley University in which 3,000 were in attendance with thousands of others connected on livestream. 

His purpose was clear; to send a message.

At 12:23 MDT, the crowd of both supporters and critics alike witnessed a great human tragedy unfold.

While Charlie was in the middle of answering a question, a brief pause was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot violently piercing him in the neck. The crowd erupted in a frenzied panic, both confused and afraid. The event came to an abrupt end and sadly, so was the life of Charlie.

The response to his death even up to the day of this writing is polarizing—many offered condolences and sympathy to his family, while others who disagreed with him gleefully celebrated his murder, claiming he deserved it.

Personally, I’ve been an avid follower of his for several years. He was known for being a brilliantly articulate advocate for Christian-Conservative values. He would set events around universities and colleges, with courageous wit and would debate students on issues such as abortion, LGBTQ, racism and even religious issues that oppose Judeo-Christian values. He put himself out of his own comfort zone and ended up in situations where he risked being attacked, often becoming a subject of verbal abuse and online ridicule. This was all to share his convictions.

Perhaps just a few days ago, you may have never even heard of Charlie Kirk. But his death made him even more well-known because he died for the message he stood for. In fact, prior to his death, Charlie had 3 million followers, but as of this writing, his followers more than tripled. Just like many who were assassinated, Charlie Kirk’s death seems to have had a larger reach than his already impactful life.

Many labeled him as both a political and a Christian martyr. It also emboldened many others who were previously passive to be more vocal about their political stance.

In the Scriptures, Jesus Christ said “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24 NIV).

Jesus Christ said this to foreshadow his death. Christ knew his death wouldn’t be meaningless but would be one of the most significant events in the history of the human race.

When Jesus died, the unbelieving world took notice and even the natural world was somehow reacting to the death of Christ. We can see that in the event of earthquakes and unbelievers confessing that the man that was crucified “truly was the son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

The death of Christ was that seed that jumpstarted the most important events of human history; the Resurrection, the birth of the Christian church on Pentecost and not to mention the countless souls being redeemed from the power of sin and death.

Jesus did not run from death. He embraced it so we can have life and life to the full. Jesus died so that we do not need to live in fear of death. It’s normal to be afraid of death but as believers we no longer live our lives by the fear of death but by the hope we have in life in Christ! (Hebrews 2:15).

Instead of living in fear of death, we are called to die a little. Life begins when we die a little. But what does it mean to “die a little”? To die a little is the self-discipline to live a godly life despite those around us refusing to do so. To die a little is when we speak the truth of the gospel even if it results in us being mocked or looked down upon by others. To die a little is when we leave our comfort zone and embrace sacrifice to serve God.

We are being taught in the church that that is what life as a believer is all about! 

To die a little is the self-discipline to live a godly life despite those around us refusing to do so. To die a little is when we speak the truth of the gospel even if it results in us being mocked or looked down upon by others. To die a little is when we leave our comfort zone and embrace sacrifice to serve God.

Earlier this year in a Spirit-filled sermon by Apostle Jonathan during the 1st Anniversary of Apostle Arsenio’s death, he stated this truth that Apostle Arsenio’s life was like that of the kernel that fell to the ground and died, but it produced.

Apostle Arsenio’s life was undoubtedly a life of self-denial but his death also became a catalyst to wake up the church to be even more faithful and is being replicated by the life of Apostle Jonathan.

Therefore, let us all take that step to live as Jesus did as modeled by our leaders in the church and you’ll be surprised to see that life is lived better when you live by “dying a little”.

Reflection:  When has death become a wakeup call to you, and what change did it make in your life? Was it a spiritual change? Relational? Physical?