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Devotionals
Devotional
for the Week of 24 September 2007
The
Second Beatitude: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Scripture Text: Matthew
5:4
“Blessed
are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Introduction
Jesus
taught that one of the character traits of Christian excellence
was the ability to “mourn”. He promised that those
who did so would be “comforted”. This teaching
seems hard to grasp. What did Jesus mean by “mourning”
and, how is “mourning” a “blessed”
event? How may we be comforted when we “mourn”?
The application of this principle applies regardless of where
we are in our spiritual lives.
The
Non-believer
This
is a person who has not committed his life to Jesus Christ.
His perception of the ability to “mourn” is one
requiring tremendous sacrifice and the compliance of rules
and commandments on his part should he choose to commit his
life to God. This therefore puts him off the idea of accepting
Christ as his Lord and Saviour.
The
truth is, Christianity is not a set of rules concocted by
a slave-driving God. The relationship between God and mankind
has been broken by sin. No amount of sacrifice or compliance
to rules can appease God. Therefore, God sent Jesus, His Son,
to express His heart to the world. Jesus came to show that
God was the loving Shepherd who provided a way – through
the perfect sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ – to bring
His lost sheep back to His fold.
When
we are called to “mourn”, we are essentially called
to a spirit of humility and repentance. With this posture
of spirit, we mourn the fact that:
We
are comforted in the process of this kind of mourning as it
allows us to accept God’s judgment and grace, turning
us to the right direction and opening our hearts to Him.
The
New, Contented Believer
This
individual would invariably have an issue with the “requirement”
to mourn, since his life has been relatively free of struggles
thus far. He may not understand the relevance of cultivating
this Christian trait in his life. Even as he ponders his relationship
with Christ, he can only envision nothing less than a wonderful
and joyful relationship, likening it to his worldly relational
experiences. He also wonders if a “good Christian”
can do without the arduous task of “mourning”.
It
is, indeed, true that our relationship with God is the ultimate
relationship anyone can experience. However, this relationship
does not only focus on us. It is also a relationship that
opens up avenues for God to fulfill his purposes through us,
and for us to serve Him.
It
is not a relationship that merely brings forth blessings to
our loved ones and us. There is a bigger picture, which is
God’s purpose for the world. He desires all nations
to know Him. In order to achieve this, we must look beyond
ourselves and allow God to use us as instruments His purpose.
As
we allow ourselves to be used by God, there will be hardship
and trials. However, we must understand that these are not
punishment for sin but part and parcel of having a relationship
with Christ, who endured much suffering (John13:16). We can
also take comfort as God has promised that He will be there
with us in our sufferings and that these will be translated
for the good of others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). When we walk
closely with Christ, we will have our fair share of hard times.
However, from these trials arise opportunities for ministry
due to:
-
A
heightened sensitivity to the needs of others around us
because of our own experience,
-
Love for others in our hearts which causes us to be an encourager
of others, and
-
Increased spiritual maturity.
These
are reasons that we are told in Scripture to consider it “pure
joy” whenever we face trials. (James 1:2) We are, therefore,
blessed when we mourn.
The
Jaded Believer
This
believer having been a Christian for a long time would ask
“ What is so blessed about mourning?”. He had
suffered the hard knocks of life and in his opinion, has seen
enough mourning and grief in his lifetime. He believes that
only the eternal side of life holds the spiritual joy that
our spirits desire.
Due
to the fall of man, mourning is universal and is not an experience
that is exclusive to Christians. By faith, Christians are
able to look forward to the kingdom of heaven where there
is no death, sickness, mourning, crying or pain. However,
as we mourn through suffering inherent in the world, we can
draw strength and comfort from the Holy Spirit, which has
been given from the day Christ came into our hearts. John
14:16 tells us that God has been given to us the Holy Spirit
as the Counsellor and that He will neither leave nor forsake
us. God’s grace is sufficient for us and His power is
made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9). We need
to bear in mind that in Christ, we are blessed and can still
experience joy while in this world because:
-
We
know what God has done for us and understand that He loves
us.
-
We
know that God understands us and knows our grief and sorrows.
He is the God who sees us (Genesis 16:13)
-
We can appreciate the extent of God’s love (John 3:16)
Conclusion
As
we mourn, we are blessed because we:
-
are
reconciled, by grace, to the Almighty God as we humble ourselves
and sincerely repent;
-
are equipped for opportunities for ministry and prepare
to be used as God’s instruments to bring His heart
to the nations; and
-
learn to see things differently, and are therefore able
to experience joy in this harsh world. We also appreciate
the blessings we have in Christ and can look forward to
an eternal life that is free of suffering, with God our
Father.
The
promise of comfort from our Father then flows from all of
the above experiences.
Prayer Response:
Our
Father in heaven, we pray for forgiveness if we have been
complacent or arrogant in spirit. Teach us, through your Holy
Spirit, to embrace this posture of mourning in our spirits
so that we my not lose sight of You and Your purposes for
this nation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Devotional based on a message
by Rev Lim Jen Huat
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