Blessed are Those Who Mourn

January 10, 2017

Blessed are Those Who Mourn

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4

“God blesses those who mourn” is often quoted at funerals or when someone is going through a time of personal suffering or grief. As I noted in the preceding Beatitude, while God certainly cares deeply for all people, including those who are suffering and grieving, Jesus has in mind here those who mourn over their sins and the sins of the world.

One way to think about the core values of the life in Christ is to remember the three essential H’s: hunger for God, heart for people, and hatred of sin. Those who are blessed as spiritual beggars in the first Beatitude are spiritually poor because they have a hunger for God. Those who mourn in this Beatitude grieve for the way their sins have hurt God, and diminished their own life. As a Christian, my life belongs to God; by creation and redemption, I belong to God. My sins not only cause pain and suffering in my own life, they are an affront to God and to Christ Jesus, “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b). Jesus is pronouncing a blessing on those who are brokenhearted over the way they have allowed sin to diminish their humanity. Jesus is pronouncing a blessing on those who grieve over how their sins have insulted the character and integrity of their Abba.

Those who mourn also have a heart for people and are grieving over the state of affairs in our world. God created us to be in community. Across the world, we have countless millions of neighbors who are in dire straits. Famine, oppression, poverty, war and evil of all kinds are devastating God’s world and His children who have been created in His image. The people of God mourn over the way sin has disfigured God’s creation. Those who mourn are taking up the lament of the psalmist David in Psalm 13: “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,    with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” (Psalm 13:2).

There is no easy answer to this question. But as David noted in this psalm, the wait is not without purpose and great blessings. As David turned to God, he found God turning to him. (See also James 4:8) God restored the sparkle to David’s eyes and David sang praises to God. We too will face times when, like David, our soul cries out to God "How long?” When we do, Jesus inspires us to turn to God and remember “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

I want to emphasize again that this comfort is two-fold. We take comfort in the truth that one day Jesus will return, and God will make all things right. The just will be vindicated. We also take comfort today in “our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3b-4).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.