God's Wonder Woman: Blessed to Mourn

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NIV)

This is one of those Biblical principles that has always puzzled me. How in the world can one feel blessed while mourning? The short and sweet answer is that we will be comforted when we mourn. Still . . . this seems like another situation where Jesus turns our human understanding upside down.

Most often when we think of grieving it is in the context of sorrow for the loss of a loved one or perhaps the loss of a dream or even the loss of a job. These are all part of the normal ebb and flow of life and while we don't feel much like rejoicing in these situations, we are at least comforted that God is with us during times of sorrow and our faith allows us to move through the pain.

It is natural to grieve when we lose a loved one and while the pain of loss doesn't ever go away completely, we can find comfort in knowing our beloved is with God and that we will join them one day. We are also comforted to know that God walks with us through our grief.

The mourning Christ refers to in the Sermon on the Mount results when we become aware of our abject and utter sinfulness. We mourn not only because we are sinful and filled with sin, but also because of the impact our sinfulness has on our lives and the lives of others.

When we mourn our lack of being in the perfect state implored by the Beatitudes, we are comforted to know our shortcomings have been covered over. The cost of our sin has been paid in full. Jesus not only paid the price for our sins, He won us eternity in heaven by his sacrifice--comfort indeed.

The Greek word for "to comfort" is parakalein; the noun form is paraklete. That is "Comforter," which is the word John uses to speak of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to send among his disciples when he left them. " Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I do not go away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you"   (John 16:7 KJV). Only by Jesus leaving--and their subsequent mourning--would they have the Comforter.

There is another meaning for parakalein, which is "to summon to one's side." It would be used in the context of inviting someone to a banquet. Jesus was known for his wonderful double meanings. So to be comforted is to be "invited to life's banquet, and there to partake of all that life has to offer, to partake of both life's joy and sorrow because both are part of the banquet and both are part of the comfort" (D. Gene West). " To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven"  (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV).

In a sermon on this beatitude, D. Gene West contends "To apply this passage to the losses sustained in the adversities of life, even the loss of a loved-one, is much too materialistic for the context in which the passage was spoken by our Lord, because the mourning and the comforting refer to the spiritual realm. This passage is directly tied to Matthew 11:29-30 in which Jesus said, "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is  light."

"There is no difference between the mourning of the Beatitude and the heavy laden of  the invitation of Jesus, and there is no difference between the comfort of the Beatitude and the rest of the invitation. Both passages refer to the remission of sin through the blood of Christ in response to the Gospel of the Kingdom. This is the meaning of this Beatitude which anticipated the good news of the Gospel as a means of comfort for a sin-laden world by the removal of the cause or reason, for the mourning--sin! Nothing can alleviate that kind of suffering (mourning) due to sin, or weaken the sorrowing for sin other than the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, because it is the Kingdom in which we live n the state of forgiveness."

Yes, I am God's Wonder Woman. But my strength is in Him--not of myself. I am reminded of a song that I love to sing "My Life Is In You, Lord". These are some of the lyrics: My life is in You, Lord; My strength is in You, Lord; My hope is in You Lord; in You, it's in You. No matter what you are grieving, no matter what battle you are waging against sin, God waits for you. He sent Christ to pay the cost of your sin and sent The Comforter to sustain you and offer you hope.