Christ is the one who redeems your past in the present, for his name’s sake and for your future’s sake. In him, the past, present, and future cohere. In him, and him alone, all this mess and muck generates a sweetness for the life of the world. The traits that make us a gift to the world are a direct result of our past experiences. Antoine Saint Exupery wrote, “Your whole past was but a birth and a becoming” (The Wisdom of the Sands). God does not bless you despite your past, but through you...