Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
What does Jesus want us to mourn about? Does He want us to wail to draw attention to ourselves? Is he asking us to mourn about lost fortunes, about not being treated well by circumstances, or about losing personal valuables? I don’t think so. I’m convinced Jesus is talking about mourning the things God mourns. Yes, losing a loved one will cause both God and us to mourn. God is love, and those who mourn due to a crushing experience will certainly be comforted. God is interested in our feelings, circumstances, and pain. This is one of the reasons Jesus said this.
“God cares for all whose heart is hurting because of all the ugly things that happen in this world” (Matthew 5:4, Afrikaans Children’s Bible). That is the way God feels about the world, but how do we feel about it? Losing a soul into eternal damnation will surely cause God to mourn, but would we? Do we just live our selfish lives, seeking recognition and sensation, not caring a dime that thousands of people go to hell every day, that many suffer physically here on earth every day?
Having a large church and a comfortable life and enjoying honor, glory, and popularity may be more important to some pastors than mourning with the Lord over those in need. Not all pastors are guilty of such, but some are, which is why I believe the Lord revealed it. Only the Lord and the guilty ones will know whether they have an attitude like this, providing they are honest with themselves.
As businessmen and women, some of us strive for riches, power, and comfort. Nice cars, luxurious homes, and prestigious schools for our children are the ultimate of our cares. Some ordinary Christians may not have the money for these luxuries, but their minds may be occupied with an attempt to live in the maximum comfort possible. Others may love having a high profile and influence in their communities.
When these are our priorities, how much time and energy is left to think about sin, decadence, and corruption, let alone mourn about them? How often have we sat in front of the TV, distressed to see God’s statutes ridiculed or Jesus’ name used in vain?
If we mourn the things God mourns, we show our priorities. When we help one of His hurting servants, we are demonstrating our mourning. This shows God that we are not preoccupied with ourselves.
If we lack empathy and do not mourn when a fellow servant is hurt, we are just as bad as the evil servant beating others in Jesus’ parable. If a man stands by and does nothing while another man beats up his wife or friend, is he not just as guilty as the one doing the beating? So if we ignore the wrong and do not even mourn and pray about it, aren’t we guilty of the wrong as well, because we silently approve of it?
Another issue the Lord mourns is sin. How much do we mourn sin? Do we accept our weaknesses and so-called white sins as something we have to live with? Do we feel that, since Jesus has forgiven all our sins by bearing them on the cross, we can live as free people while tolerating those sins?
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13). “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God” (1Peter 2:16).
Paul said in Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Also, in 2 Corinthians 12:7: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
Paul mourned and lamented his sinful condition and the fact that he was so endlessly tempted to sin—the thorn in his flesh. No human being would ever be without sin, but if we keep on mourning about our sin to the Lord, He sees our heart and attitude and then blesses and comforts us. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1: 8, 9).
Mourning about the sin in the world will cause us to pray for those who sin and to speak to them about their sin when necessary. “‘If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector’” (Matthew 18:15-17). How often are we, however, complacent about others’ sin, having an attitude that it is not our concern? If it bothered us that our brother or even a worldly stranger could be affected by the sin, we would mourn it and do something about it.
The Lord knows mankind very well. He knows that our greatest desire is comfort, and that we go to great extents to get it. He also knows that it is not comfortable to mourn, pray and do something about the hardships of others. That is why He promised that such people would be comforted. The comfort we so desperately try to obtain from other resources will come from Him.
We would have to find out how the Lord will do that by starting to mourn about God’s concerns, wouldn’t we?
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