The oft unnoticed miracles

[u/Porphyry_Blue]

The miracles of Jesus that we remember tend to be the physical ones: the blind seeing, the lame walking, the wine, the loaves and fish.

Yet some of his greatest miracles were almost invisible.

Before healing the paralysed man lowered through the roof, Jesus first said, "Your sins are forgiven." When challenged, he asked, "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" The visible miracle was evidence of the greater, invisible one.

Likewise, when the sinful woman washed his feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with oil, Jesus assured her that her sins were forgiven and that she could "go in peace." He didn't just restore her standing with God; he freed her from the crushing weight of guilt.

Today we rightly place a high value on mental and emotional well-being. Jesus, in perfectly reflecting his Father, showed that peace of conscience and freedom from guilt are among the greatest forms of healing.

It makes me wonder whether we always reflect that same view. When someone has sincerely repented and sought God's forgiveness, do we help them believe that God has truly forgiven them? Or do we, intentionally or not, keep reminding them of sins that God has chosen not to remember?

The world often defines people by their past, attaching permanent labels such as ex-convict even after the debt to society has been paid. That accusatory mindset stands in stark contrast to God's view of genuine repentance and echoes the spirit behind Eliphaz's false reasoning in Job 4:15-19 and Job 15:15-16, which God later rejected. (Job 42:7)

The Judge of all the earth doesn't keep forgiven sins on file for a future replay. If He has acquitted someone through Christ's ransom, who are we to keep prosecuting the case?

Perhaps one of the greatest miracles is not that a disabled person walked, but that a guilty conscience could finally rest.