Mourning is defined as the act of grief or sorrowing over a loss. The mere mention of mourning causes us to think of the death of a loved one. Those who study the mind, tell us there must be a proper time of mourning when we suffer a loss. We are not to suppress it, or it will never be resolved, which will hinder our emotional healing. There is a need to mourn when we suffer a loss if we are to be healthy mentally. This also applies to maintain a healthy spiritual life.
In the list of the “Be” attitudes in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus’ second “Be” deals with mourning. He teaches that those who mourn will be comforted and blessed. To be blessed in the Greek is to be happy. Not happy as we perceive happiness, but fully satisfied.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
If the mention of mourning causes us to think of death, as I stated before, why did Jesus link mourning with being fully satisfied? To understand what Jesus was speaking about we need to step back and look at the big picture of why Jesus came to earth. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to bring salvation to mankind. To receive the gift Jesus made possible for us by his own death, we must repent of our sins. To repent we must be sorry for our sins. We are to be so sorry for our sins, that we mourn over our sins. When we understand God’s view of sin, and the price He paid for our sins, it should cause us sorrow. We have cost God the pain of giving His only Son for what we did. We have caused Him to be separated from His Son. The only time in history that God the Father and the Son were separated. And it was all because of us.
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
We should be so grateful for our salvation that we weep at the thought of hurting the one who made it possible. We are to forsake our sins because of the love that we have for Jesus.
II Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
Those that mourn over their sins will be comforted by the only one who can bring true comfort. Also, the gospel is a great comfort to us because it gives us hope of eternal life. It makes this life easier to bear because we understand this is just a staging ground for the wonderful life to come. This comfort, filled with hope, reaches to the depths of our soul. It makes this life easier because we can live a peaceful life because our guilt has been resolved. The Holy Spirit that we receive when we repent of our sins will bring peace to our weary souls. He will never leave us.
John 14:26-27 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
This mourning and this comforting reminds me of the parent-child relationship. When a child disappoints a parent and feels the weight of their sin, there will be tears of repentance. When they come to the parent and ask forgiveness, the parent lovingly forgives, picks the child up in their arms and lovingly embraces them. This embracing and forgiveness brings great comfort to the child. They are again in a right relationship with the parent and are fully satisfied in that relationship.
