2010 Mar 28 - Those Who Mourn (Mt 5:4)

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"The earth is the Lord's," so all of us belong to God. But citizenship in the kingdom depends on recognizing that Jesus is Lord. The passage we've begun studying, Matthew 5-7, describes how people in that kingdom live. We may not be completely there yet, but these verses are more than just a goal for some far-distant time.

"Blessed" is the key word for this section of the Bible, Matthew 5:3-12. Last week, we used "spiritually prosperous" as a good description of "blessed." This week, we added some more thoughts. Blessings are an extension of God's grace. We don't deserve them, but we are given them anyway. "Fortunate" and "well-off" are other possible synonyms.

For this verse, it is important to know what "mourn" indicates. We thought people who mourn are people are grieving a loss. The loss might be something we used to have and now miss, or it might be awareness of something we never had but now wish to have experienced.

When we mourn, we acknowledge our loss. If we don't admit that we are suffering, we hinder the healing (comforting) process.

By honestly mourning, when it is appropriate, we allow others to see our reactions.

Mourning is a sign of our involvement in the world around us. Our mourning may not be just for personal loss. We can also mourn over the condition fo the world around us.

You have to care about something in order to mourn its loss. If we are completely satisfied with our current status, we will not mourn. And if we are apathetic, not caring what happens, we will not mourn.

Some people have interpreted this verse to suggest that we should act sad all the time. This interpretation overlooks Jesus' comments about rejoicing, ignores the calls to enjoy the world about us, and denies the joy Christians are to experience.

Mourning is also involved when we recognize what we've lost by living in a fallen world. And when we realize that our own actions and attitudes have helped to separate us from God, we really should experience sorrow. And that mourning can also be relieved (we can be comforted) when we recognize that God has provided salvation even though we don't deserve it.

Mourning can be for what we've lost and want back, for what we've never had and wish we'd had, and even for what we could but don't yet have.

Even when we don't get restoration, we can have comfort.

We shold mourn when we geel God's convicting touch. Comfort, or satisfaction, comes when God changes us.