How Our Past Can Point to Our Purpose

The door was closed so no one would know…

My first experience with watching something I shouldn’t was when I was really young. The TV show at my aunt’s house was suggestive, but my young mind could still interpret what it was suggesting.

I knew I should switch back to watching Care Bears. I pushed my convictions away for a moment. 

Sin is built into our makeup. No one teaches us to hide a bad TV show, or to cheat on homework. Like David in Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth.”

So how does our past play into our purpose if we are born sinful? 

If we are born sinful and “the wages of sin is death,” then God is all the more glorified when we accept “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The instant we ask for forgiveness, we are redeemed. The past no longer defines us. It was only once a part of us. Now, it becomes a part of your story. 

God uses our past to point to Him and His glory. We all go from living in sin to being given a clear mission. What is this mission, or purpose?

Our primary purpose is to grow in relationship with our Creator. Our secondary purpose is to tell of Him and what he’s done in our lives. (Matthew 22:37-40) 

To grow in our relationship with Him we must choose to “live as children of light” daily. (Ephesians 5:8) 

Light exposes darkness so to tell others of Him we are to “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” (Ephesians 5:11) We aren’t called to condemn others but to expose sin in ourselves and, lovingly, in others in order to further His kingdom. This is where He uses our past. Our past mistakes offer others a bench to sit beside us and our story.

We can never mess up too much to be taken away from living a life of purpose. We can remain secure in who we are and what we’re called to. These are the promises of God:

We are not condemned when we’ve messed up. (Romans 8:1)

We are not thrown away from God’s plan. (Ephesians 1:11)

He gives us a new identity. (Ephesians 5:8)

He gives us a new purpose. (Ephesians 5:11)

My past struggle with purity has pointed me to my purpose of sharing God’s redemption from that. In fact, our past can make our purpose even more powerful.

Your past points to your purpose when you share the hard things about it with others. We are all called to share our story in some way. Nobody has the same sphere of influence that you do.

You have purpose, because you are a person. You have purpose, because you have people around you that need love. Love that exposes darkness and offers freedom and purpose for them too.

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God bless // love Brits