But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins

We had a Sunday School lesson the other day about the miracles Jesus performed during his mortal ministry. The teacher had written on the board, "Why Jesus performed miracles." As we discussed some of these events in the New Testament, the class came up with various reasons such as showing individual love and compassion, teaching gospel principles, giving witness of His divine role, etc. However, the question elicited a much different response from me. Rather than thinking of why He did perform miracles in certain circumstances, I was pondering about why He sometimes doesn't intervene with a miracle. All I could think about was times when a wanted miracle didn’t occur – when people exercised faith and God could have intervened to heal someone, save a life, or soften a heart, but didn’t. I was thinking of the few times in my life when I put all the faith I could in the promise, "ask and ye shall receive," but I didn't receive. I know this may sound like unfaithful doubt to some, but I think it's important to ask these difficult questions as a way to strengthen our faith. I don't doubt at all God's ability to intervene in our lives, His love for us, and His infinite wisdom; but the simple fact is sometimes we don't see the miracle we're looking for and those are often the most difficult times in our lives.

One of Christ’s miracles described in Mark 2 helps answer these questions. A group of faithful men went through great effort to bring their friend who was sick with palsy to Jesus. In response to their faith, Christ said, “Son, they sins be forgiven thee.” When some of the scribes in the room questioned Christ’s authority to forgive sins, he stated, “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” The man was healed and a great lesson was taught. At first, Christ basically ignored the request to physically heal the man but instead responded to their faith by forgiving sins. He later offered the physical healing as a witness that he has power to forgive. He seemed to be teaching us that the miracle of true significance was the Atonement, the power of Christ to forgive our sins and reconcile us with God, and that any other miracle is only to help us have faith in that great and eternal miracle of the Atonement. I think He was teaching that with an eternal perspective, any other miracle is relatively unimportant. While God, at times, may not intervene to stop an untimely death, heal an infirmity, or soften a hardened heart – He never withholds the miracle of forgiveness and Atonement for those who seek it in faith.

While I still don’t always understand why some requests are granted and miracles are performed while others aren’t, I can exercise faith in God’s infinite wisdom. I know that even the worst of trials we face in this life is “but a small moment” (DC 121:7) in the eternal scheme. Any miracle we do witness is only a testimony of the more important miracle of forgiveness, and any miracle we seek for but do not receive pails in comparison to the miracle of the Atonement already performed for us.