I have recently been drawn back to another passage of scripture from the Beatitudes. It is recorded in Matthew 5:4. One cannot easily understand this passage without understanding the first of the Beatitudes which states, "Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God." One very concise understanding of who the poor in spirit are is that the poor in spirit are those who have come to understand they are in reality lost and adrift in the sea of opinions, experiences, and futility—all of which are detached from the knowledge of God. The opposite of poor in spirit is arrogance; and arrogance shuts the door to the illuminating Spirit of God and denies one the ability to discover, rejoice in, and marvel at the goodness of God's glory.
Once one comes to a poverty of spirit and begins to taste the goodness of God, one can understand the paradox of "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted." All of us are aware of the grief which invades one’s life when experiencing loss of one kind or another. The loss of a job, financial security, a valued friendship, one’s health, or the impending loss of the life of a loved one or friend all create a deep sense of grief. The one who relies on the Lord Jesus Christ and the counsel of Holy Scripture can find much comfort in these times. In fact such comfort is a part of the riches of the Kingdom of God.
The mourning this beatitude speaks of includes a deeper mourning over the realized sin in one’s life and the sin in the lives of others who reject the goodness of God. For me one of the most grievous of times is when I encounter an arrogance in myself (which is far too often) or in others upon whom I rely, which substitutes a shallow or simple pragmatic human opinion for a true understanding of the nature, ways, and will of our wonderful God. Such mourning always draws me back to the word of God and self-examination before the Lord, which allows for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to draw me closer to the heart and nature of my Heavenly Father. In these times I am brought to a purer dependence upon the Lord, and I find renewal through conviction and repentance, through instruction, or through the comfort of my Lord's renewed promises and presence. Thus, I am blessed by the Lord's comfort in my mourning.
This past week I was humbled to see just such comfort displayed by a child of God who is in a life-and-death struggle with metastasized cancer. As she was lamenting her health condition, she broke out into a beaming smile and a confident joy as she spoke of the hope which is hers in Christ Jesus. She is an abiding saint of God displaying the reality of comfort in response to her mourning.
Once one comes to a poverty of spirit and begins to taste the goodness of God, one can understand the paradox of "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted." All of us are aware of the grief which invades one’s life when experiencing loss of one kind or another. The loss of a job, financial security, a valued friendship, one’s health, or the impending loss of the life of a loved one or friend all create a deep sense of grief. The one who relies on the Lord Jesus Christ and the counsel of Holy Scripture can find much comfort in these times. In fact such comfort is a part of the riches of the Kingdom of God.
The mourning this beatitude speaks of includes a deeper mourning over the realized sin in one’s life and the sin in the lives of others who reject the goodness of God. For me one of the most grievous of times is when I encounter an arrogance in myself (which is far too often) or in others upon whom I rely, which substitutes a shallow or simple pragmatic human opinion for a true understanding of the nature, ways, and will of our wonderful God. Such mourning always draws me back to the word of God and self-examination before the Lord, which allows for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to draw me closer to the heart and nature of my Heavenly Father. In these times I am brought to a purer dependence upon the Lord, and I find renewal through conviction and repentance, through instruction, or through the comfort of my Lord's renewed promises and presence. Thus, I am blessed by the Lord's comfort in my mourning.
This past week I was humbled to see just such comfort displayed by a child of God who is in a life-and-death struggle with metastasized cancer. As she was lamenting her health condition, she broke out into a beaming smile and a confident joy as she spoke of the hope which is hers in Christ Jesus. She is an abiding saint of God displaying the reality of comfort in response to her mourning.
