Divergent Devotion

            The Divergent book series (also made movies) by Veronica Roth has been quite the rage recently. In the story, there are five different factions or character traits and each person is supposed to only truly be one. But those that are divergent defy these rules and can possess more than just one of the main qualities. So maybe instead of just being honest, someone is honest, selfless, and intelligent. The divergent people in this series were the ones that had a real impact in their society and were the ones that made all the difference.  

            Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is one of my favorite Bible passages. And in a way, it might be all about being divergent.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We’re not called to just love God with our hearts. The verse says to love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might… In other words, love God with everything you’ve got. Now this is the part where you find out how Divergent has absolutely anything to do with this. Instead of just giving God a portion of ourselves, we should be divergent in our devotion to him. Everything you have should be given to God. Every area of your life should be lived for him. Every part of who you are should honor the commandment to love God with everything you have. Divergent devotion.

            When you become divergently devoted to God, that’s when you can start making a real impact. If you’ve seen the movie or read the books, the divergent people were ultimately persecuted for being divergent. So they hid themselves in the beginning and had no real effect on their world. But when the divergent accepted who they were and stopped hiding it, they began to change all the lives of the people around them. Sure, they had plenty of struggles and trials that they had to go through, but they were on the road to making a lasting positive impact in their world.

            Learn to be divergent and grow more and more devoted to serving Christ. Learn to become brave and not be afraid of the persecution you might receive for being fully devoted to God. And learn to work on the areas of your life where maybe you hold back and don’t completely surrender over to him. God’s not asking for a lot…. He’s asking for everything.