Years ago while in Jerusalem I was privileged to meet Pastor Richard Wurbrand and his wife Sabina and hear them speak three times. Wurmbrand was tortured and imprisoned for fourteen years in Communist Romania for his Christian witness. The Wurmbrands were unforgettable. The excellent testimony of their lives spoke to us as loudly as their words. On one occasion as we shook hands, Richard kissed my cheek in that place I hate to wash since that meeting.

We lost Charlie Kirk a week ago in a senseless act that is creating a growing groundswell that may not crest. This quote from Wurmbrand’s Tortured for Christ seems uncannily applicable.

“A flower, if you bruise it under your feet, rewards you by giving you its perfume. Likewise Christians, tortured by the Communists, rewarded their torturers by love. We brought many of our jailors to Christ. And we are dominated by one desire: to give Communists who have made us suffer the best we have, the salvation that comes from our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 2:15 describes believers as the “fragrance of Christ” spreading the “sweet aroma of the knowledge of him.” Ephesians 5:2 describes Christ’s own sacrifice as a “fragrant offering.” We’re experiencing that crushed fragrance with the death of Charlie Kirk. May that also be our testimony every day when bruised and in every circumstance.