Francis of Assisi
A Man Ahead of His Time!

One such follower of Christ who some Christians choose to remember is an Italian born in Assisi, Italy in 1182. This son of Pietro Bernadone was originally named Giovanni after John the Baptist. However, his father did not want his son to have a biblical name so he renamed him, Francesco. In English this translates into Francis. Hence we have Francis of Assisi.

Francis was born into a wealthy merchant’s home. In his childhood and youth he had want for nothing. This young man exhibited considerable charisma. He was greatly loved and admired by nearly everyone who knew him. As with many young people Francis sowed his wild oats with wine, women and song. He loved the rich, wild life. Like his father he had developed a great love and admiration for France and for everything French. Following in his father’s footsteps Francis became very successful in business. Because of his preoccupation with pleasure he had no time for godly living. He had a burning desire to be a knight. As a youth he went off to battle joining the soldiers of his beloved city Assisi. However, the army of Assisi was defeated by the army of a neighboring city. Francis was taken captive and was held in prison for ransom by the enemy. He spent a year in a dungeon and was eventually ransomed by his father.

Following his release from prison he continued his riotous living. Seeking greater glory he enlisted in the pope’s Fourth Crusade. At that point in history the Western Church had conducted a number of crusades to supposedly reclaim the holy land, especially Jerusalem, from the Muslims. These crusades were anything but holy and were not Christian in the New Testament understanding and meaning of Christian. In their misguided ‘religious’ zeal the Crusaders killed multitudes of innocent people including Jews, Muslims and even Eastern Orthodox Christians. The crusades remain a dark blot on Roman Catholicism to this day.

Fortunately Francis did not continue in the crusade that he had intended to be a part of. With only a day out of Assisi to join fellow crusaders Francis had an awe-inspiring dream which impacted and changed his life. In this dream the LORD dealt with him and told him that he was to return to Assisi.

Upon returning to Assisi Francis was looked upon as a coward by his peers and by his own father for not continuing with the Crusaders. This humiliated Francis and greatly impacted his life.

At that time in history the majority of Europeans claimed Christianity, however very few had an understanding of biblical Christianity. At this point in his life Francis became ‘religious’ but still did not understand authentic Christian faith. It was later that he testified to having been ‘born again.’ In his quest to know Christ better, the LORD spoke to Francis while he was praying in an abandoned church building that was in disrepair at San Damiano, an area located outside of Assisi. The LORD said to him,
“Francis, repair My church!”

It was only natural that Francis assumed that GOD was commissioning him to rebuild this tumbled down structure. He immediately began the task of repairing and rebuilding the abandoned chapel. With the help of others the building was restored. However, Francis later realized that the LORD was urging him to repair (reform) the Church, not a building, but the institutional Church which had become increasingly cor-rupt through the centuries. He went to Rome, had an audience with the pope challenging the pope to return to simple living and to simple faith in Christ. He encouraged the bishop of Rome and the hierarchy to cease living in such grandeur and wealth and come to the aid of the poor and needy of the world.

Francis set a Christlike example by literally giving away all of his wealth including the very clothes that had been given to him by his wealthy father. He proceeded to declare that God alone was his Father. For the rest of his life he wore nothing but rags and castoffs.

People began to recognize the Christlike lifestyle of this simple follower of Christ. People flocked around him amazed and bewildered at the humble Christlike life he was living. The religious leaders of that day were living anything but godly lives. As people gathered about Francis he declared:

Francis has become known for the deep love and respect that he had for all of God’s creation: for nature and for animals. He was truly a man far ahead of his time in his love and concern for our planet earth, for creation and for all of the creatures of our God and King. Francis had an understanding that many Christians: fundamentalists, evangelicals and charismatics, still do not appear to have. In fact, when a Christian takes stands similar to those taken by Francis that person is often ridiculed, scorned and labeled as a ‘liberal’ by some fellow Christians.

Francis was never ordained a presbyter, yet he was indeed ordained a servant of God. He lived a life of Godlike humiliation, suffering, seasoned by prayer and devotion to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are told that in his desire to share in our Lord’s passion he received marks of the nails and wounds similar to those inflicted upon the Savior at His crucifixion. Whether or not this is fact we do not know, however we do know that Francis identified with our Lord’s passion in a way that few Christians today can understand and fewer experience.

There are many legends surrounding Francis preaching to the animals. What is fact and what is fiction we are not sure. We do know that he was a man of God. We also know that he was one of those people whom the Spirit of God called out unto salvation and into servant ministry. He repented of his former way of living life and was “born of the Spirit” as evidenced by the fruit that his life produced.

Approaching death Francis became subject to intense suffering eventually going blind. He responded to this by writing his “Canticle of the Sun” that expresses his identification with creation in glorifying, exalting and praising God.

Francis went home to be with his LORD on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45. He is one of the outstanding saints of God that it would do well for Christians to remember. Each October 4th or a day close to it some churches hold a special service of thanksgiving by blessing nature and God’s creatures. The hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King” by Francis is worth noting:

All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing Alleluia! Alleluia! The burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam, O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia. Thou rushing wind that art so strong, Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice; Ye lights of evening, find a voide, O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia.

And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye, Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care, O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One, O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia.