📖 ✝️ Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:13
“You shall not murder.”
Exodus 20:13 NIV
“Violence begins long before the hand strikes—when the heart refuses love.”
— Henri Nouwen
🎬🔛 Saint Francis of Assisi – From Violence to Sacred Life (Assisi, Italy – Early 13th Century)
Before becoming one of Christianity’s most beloved saints, Francis of Assisi was a young man driven by ambition, pride, and the desire for military glory. Born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy, Francis eagerly joined armed conflict between rival city-states, embracing the culture of violence common in medieval Europe.
After being captured in war and imprisoned for a year, Francis returned home physically weakened and spiritually restless. Over time, illness and deep inner struggle led him to reevaluate his life. A turning point came when Francis encountered a leper—someone he once despised. Instead of recoiling in hatred, Francis embraced him, later describing the moment as a spiritual rebirth.
To be continued…
💒 🕊️ ✨
Among the Ten Commandments spoken at Mount Sinai, God gave one of the shortest yet most weighty commands: “You shall not murder.” In Hebrew, the word rasah does not refer to all killing, but specifically to the unlawful, intentional taking of innocent human life. Scripture carefully distinguishes murder from killing that carries legal or moral justification, such as self-defense or lawful judgment.
This command was given to a nation emerging from slavery, where life had been cheap and violence common. God established that human life is sacred because it bears His image. Murder is not merely an offense against society—it is rebellion against the Creator.
Jesus later deepened this command in the Sermon on the Mount, teaching that murder does not begin with the hand but with the heart filled with hatred, anger, or contempt (Matthew 5:21–26). One may never commit the physical act, yet still violate the command inwardly by wishing harm, destruction, or death upon another.
🤔 🪞 💡 “You shall not murder” calls us to more than rejecting violence—it calls us to reject hatred. Murder is the final fruit of a heart that has already devalued another person. Jesus revealed that unresolved anger, contempt, and bitterness are spiritual seeds of violence, even when never acted upon.
God values life not only in the physical sense but in the relational and spiritual sense. When we harbor hatred, we emotionally and spiritually destroy others in our hearts. This command therefore confronts not only crimes of bloodshed but every attitude that strips another person of dignity, mercy, or worth.
To obey this command fully, we must allow God to cleanse our hearts from resentment, pride, and unforgiveness. The preservation of life begins with reconciliation, humility, and love. God’s law calls us not just to refrain from killing, but to actively choose peace, forgiveness, and life-giving love.
🎬🔚 End of the story :
Francis renounced violence entirely, laying down weapons and choosing a life devoted to peace, humility, and reverence for all life. He preached reconciliation, cared for the poor, and became known for calling every creature his brother or sister. His transformation demonstrated the truth of Exodus 20:13—that God’s command to protect life begins with the transformation of the heart.
Francis lived out Christ’s teaching by replacing hatred with love and violence with compassion, influencing the Church and the world for centuries.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi
⚒️🎯 This commandment invites us to examine not only our actions but our inner lives. We are reminded that anger left unchecked can quietly harden our hearts and distort how we view others. We are called to surrender bitterness, to pursue reconciliation, and to treat every person as sacred in God’s sight. When we choose forgiveness over hatred and humility over pride, we protect life—both our own and that of others. As followers of Christ, we are called to be people who guard life with our words, our attitudes, and our hearts, reflecting the mercy we ourselves have received.
🙏 🕯️ Prayer: God of life, Search our hearts and cleanse us from anger and hatred.Teach us to value every life You have created.Replace bitterness with mercy and lead us in paths of peace. Amen.
Leave a comment