Divergent. Not the young adult book series and movie but the story of two men. In a weekend, one of them had a party and the other one was featured on a TV crime show. There were similarities. Both men marched to the beat of a different drum, were unconventional, even awkward. But the outcomes of their lives couldn’t have been more divergent.
The one man chose a path of helping others, meeting needs, counseling, listening, visiting, praying, often ministering where there was illness or death. And when hundreds from his congregation gathered to celebrate his work and retirement, men and women shared through tears stories of this man’s friendship and caring. His unique and naïve ways were transformed to bless others.
The other man was called a “gentle giant” and a “loner”. He worked too but working inside of him was a dark, bitter and violent response to his world. Over his young adult years, he brutally attacked two victims who survived and he took the lives of at least two young college women. His crimes were eventually found out and he is spending his life in prison.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) The pastor enjoyed a full life because he surrendered his limitations (and we all have them) to God. The other man’s life was stolen by evil as he succumbed to the worst of his nature. We all have to make the choice: the full life through Jesus or destruction.