Some of the worlds greatest villains were some of the most religious of men, think of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 9/11 hijackers.
But The Lord wrote the laws of God on the hearts of men so all would know His ways.
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:33
Isaiah 59:21 says the same.
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.Hindus believe that the natural human disposition is inherently divine and the illusion of this world is what corrupts us.This I think is true, that our soul is a spark of divinity that we must embrace to be truly transformed and to save ourselves and lead the way for others.When Jesus said "The Kingdom of God is within you" I believe this is what He meant. And when He spoke of living water welling up in each of us He, I think, was describing what happens when we find that Kingdom within and use that divine spark to its fullest effect.We can enlighten and nourish ourselves and each other.Abraham Lincoln said "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."This I think is a good explanation of how to practically live out the teaching to love our enemies and our neighbors as ourselves. And to love each other as Jesus loved us which is a new commandment Jesus gave us.Living in a Christ-like fashion isn't easy but it is worth it.We benefit and so do all who come into contact with us. It's that example that converts the best. And it's that example that out shines the darkness we often find not only in the world but within ourselves.Saul was born in Tarsus and raised as a devout Jew, so much so that when a new off shoot called "the way" threatens the religious order of his time he zealously fights against these followers of Christ. To the point the he takes part in the killing of the first Christian martyr Stephen.Yet hot on the trail of these Jewish heretics he is confronted by the resurrected Christ which then makes him a believer.And from there he becomes the most influential Christian missionary and writes 2/3 of the New Testament's scripture as Paul the apostle.Some times the people with the ugliest pasts can create the most beautiful futures.Being Christ-like is a tall order but if Saul can become Paul and accomplish what he did we too can transform our futures into something beautiful and leave our past in the past.