The Enabling Power of the Atonement
In the October 1995 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes known as The ‘Mormon’ Church), President Boyd K. Packer, [modern apostle], said:
[Except for] the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no one exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ (”The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 20).
Clearly the atonement has the power to redeem us from sin and the effects of the Fall. But the Atonement has the power to enable us. To enable means “to make able; give power, means, or ability; make competent” (Webster’s Unabridged DIctionary, 1989, s.v. “enable”). The redemptive power of the Atonement which is activated by faith in Jesus Christ, makes us powerful, able, competent and holy. It is the power that compensates when we do our best and still fall short. It is the power that magnifies our abilities, allowing us to achieve beyond our own natural capacity. It is the power that enables us to keep trying even when we feel like giving up. It is the power by which we are “born again” (John 3:3) and become perfect (John 17:23).
Our goal is not just to become clean. Our goal is to become like God! We cannot do that by ourselves. C.S. Lewis said:
When I was a child I often had [a] toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother–at least, not till the pain became very bad. . . . I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain but I could not get it without [also going to the dentist].
Our Lord is like the dentist. . . . Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of . . . or which is obviously spoiling daily life. . . . Well, He will cure it all right, but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if you once call Him in, He will give you the full treatment. . . . ‘Make no mistake,’ He says, ‘if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have [free will], and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. . . . I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect–until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me.’
And yet–this is the other equally important side of it–this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty.
Like the redemptive power of the Atonement, the enabling power is made possible by the grace of God. We can, by our sins, spiritually disable ourselves. But we cannot, without His help, become spiritually enabled. He is the source, the “outlet,” of the power. If we accept His atonement and let our will be swallowed up in His, we can “plug into” that unfailing source of power and strength.
Sperry Symposium Classics, 2006, Brigham Young University & Deseret Book, 169-170.
Tags: Atonement, Jesus Christ, power, redemption, strength
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