A friend of mine pointed out how the best movies have strong origin stories...
... because when you know some of the background of a character, it makes things more interesting, and also makes the character more endearing.
For example...
What makes the Rocky movies so inspiring is not simply that Robert Balboa became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world...
... but that he rose from being a poor working class Italian American who lived in the slums of Philadelphia... started as a local club boxer... and worked as an enforcer for a local loan shark.
As my friend was telling me about the role of origin stories, I couldn't help but note how every follower of Christ has his or her own origin story.
This might involve being raised in a Christian home. Or it could include a stint in Hell's Angels.
But whatever the story, it's a testimony to God's grace... who brings all kinds of characters out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved son.
And what matters now is not so much the details of your past, but how you can take all the pieces of what makes your story and contribute to the larger drama of what God is doing to redeem the world today.
And this starts anew when you choose this day whom you will serve (Josh.24:15).