Matthew 5:3-12
Verse 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
We talked yesterday how this list is for students of Jesus and so when we look at these verses we should look at them from a slightly different angle than maybe we have in the past. Today's verse is a perfect example of that.
This verse is often quoted at funerals or to those who have lost a loved one but what if there is a deeper understanding since we know this isn't a statement made to the broad population but to those who are followers of Jesus? We know that as Christians we are not to mourn as non-believers because of our hope in the resurrection. Knowing that Christ rose from the dead we can know that He will raise us when He returns.
This whole passage, which includes chapters 5-7, deals with ridding our lives of sin. Before we are willing to get rid of things in our lives that don’t please the Lord, we have to come to the place of hating our sin. When we can mourn for our sins, we will learn that they don’t entice us anymore. We will start to see them in the light of His sacrifice on the cross and that should make us think about the price of sin.
We tend to act as if sin is of no cost. We don’t give much thought to the consequences of our actions, whether good or bad. But if we were to become more intentional about the actions we take and think more deeply about if they are sinful or not we would begin to understand that what we do matters. And when we evaluate what our sin has meant for Christ and the damage it does to us as it corrodes our conscience, we should come to a point of mourning over it.
When we are mourning a loved one there is nothing like the comfort from a friend. When we mourn over our sins we can also know the comfort of a friend, the best friend we will ever have because He will not only comfort us but will flood us with the assurance of His forgiveness. Yes, we will be blessed when we mourn but the greatest blessing we get from mourning is when we mourn over our sins and turn from them to be the people that God has called us to be.
Making It Personal
Does the knowledge of your sins cause you to mourn? Is it just the consequences of the sin or the fact that you made a choice against God? How can you do better at choosing His way?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to mourn over your sin? Why should you be sad about your sin? What is a good way to make sure that you don’t sin?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess that our sins don’t often cause us the grief that they should. Help us learn to see our sins as You see them and help us come to hate them as You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.