“Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” How many times have all of us heard these
words? How many of us, having just lost
a loved one to death’s painful sting or sitting in a funeral service, have
heard someone recite these words? One of
the great blessings of the Christian faith is that when a believer dies, those
whom he/she leave behind can take great comfort in the reality that their loved
one now enjoys. We know that, as
Christians, the heavenly reality that one enters into upon residing within
heaven is so much greater than anything that we can imagine. However, many times that doesn’t provide
enough comfort to cause us to cease our mourning for them in that moment. Now, whether it should or not is an entirely
different matter that I won’t be taking up today. However, we do know that eventually comfort
does come in our mourning, and that comfort comes from Christ. That comfort comes from eventually realizing
in a fuller manner that because of Jesus our loved one is better off. Have you ever thought about what an
unbeliever thinks during a time of mourning?
The funeral of an unbeliever’s would be really short: “Welp!
He lived a pretty full life but I guess it’s over now.”
You
see, there is something that I almost feel goes without saying; however it
needs to be said, and I didn’t say it last Sunday. The Beatitudes, while a list of
characteristics for living godly lives as disciples of Christ, like we said
last Sunday, are promises made to believers, to followers of Christ only. You see, so often we try and make the
blessings and promises of Christ so inclusive that they apply to even those who
do not profess faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior. There are blessings that God bestows on all
of humanity regardless of their being found in him. We call this general or common grace. However, there are those things that are
specifically for only those who are believers and professors of Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior. We call this special
grace. We got into this a little bit
last Sunday during Sunday School when talking about people wanting all of the
benefits of Christ without having all of the need for him. You know, wanting all of the good that the
cross brings without having to admit that I’m a wretched sinner who is in need
of Christ’s saving grace. Thinking along
such lines has led to the notion of people thinking that everyone is saved by
Christ’s death. That somehow it is God’s
job or obligation to save all of His children instead of an act of great mercy and
love that He chooses to save any of us.
This type of thinking has also led people to have much greater views of
themselves than they ought to have, especially from a spiritual, righteousness,
and salvific perspective.
Often
times, you will see the first two Beatitudes discussed together because they
play so greatly off of one another. In
order for us to find comfort in our mourning, we must realize that we are in
need of comforting. We must realize that
we are unable to provide our own comfort and that we need another to provide it
for us. We need to realize that we are
poor in spirit; that we are completely empty of the anything good that makes us
worthy of salvation. Then, once we
realize this, that is when we begin to be truly comforted. How many people have fallen and destroyed
themselves and others by seeking their own comfort? They seek comfort in earthly things. They seek comfort in drugs and alcohol. They seek comfort in lust and adulterous
relationships. They seek comfort in
amassing power and wealth and fame. They
are willing to destroy everything that they have been given in this world in an
effort to bring themselves what they think is ultimate comfort and you know
what always happens? Do you know what
the result always is? No matter how hard
we may try, we cannot provide the type of comfort for ourselves that Christ is
talking about here. We can try, but
we’re never going to get there. Our
efforts to try and do something that only God can do are what lead many to
addiction, just trying to get to that place of comfort. Things don’t make sense to us and we refuse
to acknowledge that there is some higher power, God, who is unfolding His plan
and we try and comfort ourselves. Or
maybe we do acknowledge God, but we just don’t think that He is capable of
providing the type of comfort that we can give ourselves. We try and provide for ourselves the type of
peace and comfort that is only available through Jesus Christ.
I
want to remind you of what we said last Sunday that “blessed” or makarios in Greek means. It means to be completely filled by God. So, we are completely filled by God in our
mourning. In our pain, suffering, and
guilt, that is where we find comfort and the presence of God. I realize that that seems like an odd statement,
but remember that I said one of the great characteristics of the Beatitudes is
that what may seem like an ironical or contradictory statement on the surface
is actually not. Once we see these words
through the lens of Jesus Christ and the gospel, then they begin to make
perfect sense to us. They begin to
become something very profound when it comes to our faith.
Now, up until
this point I have spoken of mourning largely in situations involving the death
of someone. However, mourning is not
confined or limited to simply the loss of someone or something. You see, it’s possible to mourn other
things. We do it all the time. We can mourn our own sin. We can mourn the sin of others. I know that I’ve mourned over things that I’ve
done that were sinful. I know that I’ve
mourned over the sin of others. Fairly
recently, I had a mentor pastor of mine fall into the sin of adultery. He began a relationship with someone other
than his wife of 20+ years and wrecked things between himself and his children,
his friends, and his congregation. I
mourned greatly at the ravaging effects that sin reeked on my friend and his
life and his family and his ministry. To
be quite honest with you, it took me some time to get over. It took me really pouring over the words of
Romans 5:3-5 (but we rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces
character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame,
because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who
has been given to us.) and 2 Corinthians 4 (We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being
given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our mortal flesh.) and praying about it before it really
became clear to me that God alone could provide the comfort in this situation
that both myself and everyone else needed.
Eventually, I
was able to see that underneath it all I was really mourning because of the
sins of my friend against God. I was
able to get to a place where I was able to see past my own hurt in this
situation and realize that this episode should serve as a reminder as to how
great God’s love for me really is. I was
able to see how often I turn away from God seeking my own comfort and worth in
something else. Now, I have never gone
as far as adultery, but how many times have I sought refuge in other things,
earthly things? How many times have I thought
that buying something new or taking a trip or “just getting away” would give me
comfort? No, it’s only when I recognize
that Christ is the only one who can grant such comfort and when I seek Him that
I can truly find what I’m in need of.
When I read the
words of Jesus as he says, “Blessed are those who mourn” my mind
immediately jumps to Jesus himself. I
think of how Christ mourned there in the Garden on the night of his arrest. I
think of Jesus looking up to his Father and begging Him, “Father, if you are
willing, remove this cup from me.” I
think of Jesus being in so much agony as he prayed that he actually began to
sweat blood. I think of the sadness and
disappointment that he must have felt as he was nailed to the cross. I think of the mourning that he felt as he
looked out of his swollen eyes, through the sweat and blood that ran down his
face, and saw people who were actually glad that he was being crucified. I think of the pain and mourning that it must
have caused the Father to sit by and watch His Son go through such a painful
death (and he knew how it would all turn out).
You know, it’s
hard for us to picture the cross as a place of comfort. It’s hard for us to picture a scene of such
violence and brutality to be a place for those who mourn. However, for Christians, that is exactly what
it is; because that is the place where our source of greatest mourning finds
its comfort. You see, the Greek word
that is translated here as “comfort” carries with it a sense of being drawn
nearer to God. That is the place where
we find the price for our sins paid in full.
That is the place where we find our salvation achieved. I said a moment ago that the first two
Beatitudes are commonly linked together.
Let me sort of explain that a little farther. When we realize that we are poor in spirit
and realize that we are completely unworthy of salvation and have nothing good
to offer on our own(1st Beatitude), then we mourn greatly at this
fact and that we continue to sin against God (2nd Beatitude). However, in our recognition of both our lack
of good and our continued sin, we are given the comfort (promise of 2nd
Beatitude) of knowing that because of Jesus’ sacrificial death upon the cross that
one day our reality as professors of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will one
day be in heaven with God the Father Almighty (promise of the 1st
Beatitude).
“Greatly filled
are those who mourn, weep, or feel guilt over their sin, for they will be
comforted in God’s sending for them and His drawing them nearer to Him.” Friends, the notion of spiritual comfort is
similar to the difference between happiness and joy; one is momentary while the
other is eternal and everlasting. True
comfort comes in knowing that the price for our sins has been paid in full and
that God has forgiven us of them.
Temporary relief from our sins and troubles may be found in earthly
things, but true comfort comes only from God.
Perhaps you know someone who is seeking comfort in relationships, money,
food, drugs, work, material possessions, or something else. Well, we all know that there is no true
comfort to be found in any of these things.
Sure, there’s momentary relief, but there is no everlasting
comfort. The only source of such comfort
is Jesus Christ, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. The only place where we are truly comfortable
is in the presence of the Son. Don’t
spend your time or let someone else spend their time running around trying to
find comfort in earthly things because it’s just not there. Seek Christ.
Realize that you’ve sinned and that you are in need of a savior and run
to him. It is in his arms and his
presence where we will truly know comfort.
Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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