Amanda Carrasco

I’m not going to do a theological debate here, nor state any verses for either theological side regarding the doctrine of original sin, but what I am going to do is explore the implications. So please bare with me whichever camp you are in.

The doctrine of original sin leads us to a conclusion that we are born sinful. We enter this world as damaged goods. Something, or moreover, someone, that God created is tainted and tarnished. His perfect creation, through no fault of their own at that point, have become unworthy of the presence of God. That’s what we are taught.

How does one live to their full potential believing that they are damaged? I know this life well because it’s not only how I was taught spiritually, but also what I believed because I was abused as a child. I fully embraced the concept that I was damaged goods. I should take what I can get because who wants something already used. No point holding out and no point striving for the top: that had already been taken from me.

BUT THOSE WERE LIES

There was a revelation to me in my early 20’s that I was not damaged goods. I asked God where he was when all those things happened to me, because I believed that He loved me, but that He (being holy) could not look at me when it was happening. I was shown that He was right there with me, crying and hurting just like me, and because of what was happening to his precious and perfect daughter. He never left me. He never viewed me as tarnished or tainted.

I made bad decisions based on the lies that I had believed and in that moment I knew that he did not hold them against me because he understood, but He wanted better for me. I had never felt pure in my life and at that moment, for the first time, I felt pure. That was the most amazing feeling I have ever had. Nothing can compare to the feeling of being given something you never felt worthy of. My life changed, my decisions changed, my everything changed because I knew I was pure.

What an impact on our decisions when we understand our value. No one will ever take that feeling of purity away from me, because to me it is sacred. What would our lives look like if we knew our worth? What would our world be like if our decisions were based on the fact that we are created in the image of the almighty, holy and pure God?