Thou Shalt Not Kill

Angered by the presence of a sect in his Communist community, one man determined to do something about it. After getting his courage up, he purposed to carry out his scheme.

Arming himself with two grenades, one in the left coat pocket and the other in the right, he left his home on Saturday morning. Planning to wait until everyone was already inside the sanctuary, he lingered in the foyer. But latecomers continued to arrive.

The pastor began preaching, and still more latecomers walked into the church. The homily’s main text was, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). The angry murderer was gripped by the message. Strangely, he forgot all about his purpose.

Instead, a feeling of guilt began to creep over him as he stood and listened. Overwhelmed with conviction, he turned and left the church. As he walked over the Tirgu Mures River, he pulled out the grenades and threw them into the river. Overcome with remorse, riddled with guilt, and bothered with a troubled conscience, he thought over the terrible atrocity he almost perpetrated.

The text and message he heard that day kept ringing in his ears, “Thou shalt not kill.” Not able to stand it any longer, he returned to the church and sought an audience with the speaker. Amazed with what the visitor revealed of the confession of the would-be assassination, the pastor asked, “What stopped you?” “As I stood there listening to those words, they seemed to be like arrows piercing through my soul.

I saw myself as a terrible lost man. I went home and began to consider my lost condition and realized that if it had not been for those words, I would have committed a crime for which I would never be able to forgive myself. I need forgiveness and a changed heart. Will God forgive me and accept me?”