Chapter Two - “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
As we can see, Jesus continues puzzling our minds with some contradictions, compared to the patterns and standards of this world system. The genuine question may rise: How can we be blessed when we mourn? How can we see blessing in a time of loss?
The world sees mourning as a loss, as a state of sorrow for something that can never be recovered or seen again. The world only knows one kind of mourning, the mourning that Jeremiah portraits in his book when he writes about Rachel’s cry refusing to be comforted for loosing her children for they are no more (Jeremiah 31:15), a feeling of helplessness and lack of hope, not having the ability of seeing what’s beyond. In the Kingdom, the mourning occurs when we, in an attitude of repentance and sorrow for acknowledge our fallen nature; recognize how far we have been away from Him. It’s when we, as citizens of the Kingdom, by the Holy Spirit, become convinced of sin, righteousness and judgment and respond to His calling for repentance, a turn of direction, without looking back. In the kingdom we receive hope again, the assurance that as a consequence of our act of repentance, we can see beyond the sorrows of this world and hope for a greater and better future prepared by Jesus for us (Romans 8:22-24).
The world mourns with remorse, cries for its loss but continues in the same destructive path that led them to very same loss they now mourn and suffer. They look at the situation, they feel sorry but they do nothing to change, they continue, relying on them selves. Take a look at Judas Iscariots, for example, the bible says in Mathew 27:3 to 5 that he was REMORSEFUL, he was sorry for what he had done to Jesus, he even tried to fix it, but in the end his remorse led him to a destructive path, to death. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 10 says: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (NKJ). The sorrow of the world led Judas to his death for he was not truly repented of his sin. On the contrary with Peter, though he had lied, denied the Lord Jesus publicly, when confronted in his actions he repented and never walked in that path again. The godly sorrow led him repentance and salvation in Christ Jesus.
Now, the mourning of the world is also based in condemnation, God’s judgment upon mankind, the salary for sin, death sentenced to every man who has fallen short of God’s glory. The condemnation that is upon the world comes from the act of one man, Adam, by his act all of mankind was condemned and if we continue under the Adamic filiation we will remain condemned. But we in the kingdom we mourn with the confidence that as we cry out to God, as we pour out our hearts to Him, as we confess knowing that God will restore us, as we repent, we turn away from the destructive path without looking back, we are comforted by His Spirit, we are lifted up and the “glory of the latter house becomes greater than the first”. The difference lies in where you stand. If you are in Christ, there’s no condemnation, but the conviction of the Spirit, as He convinces us from sin, righteousness and judgment. Allowing ourselves to be under the Lordship of Jesus will then makes us realize that our mourning will not lead us to sadness or hopelessness but the assurance that we will be comforted by Him (Isaiah 12:1). Though we might find ourselves in a position that has brought sadness into the heart of God, we know that He will bring the comfort we need through forgiveness and restoration. Condemnation will always put us down and will try to keep us there, where conviction will bring edification and restoration.
Do we mourn like Rachel, in a desperate cry, in hopelessness, or do we mourn like citizens of the Kingdom, that no matter the circumstance may be, He will bring comfort to our hearts, restoration and joy. In the well known commentary from Adam Clarke, we can read the following: “…true joy must be the fruit of sorrow”. We can only experience God’s comfort and joy once we have been through the process of sorrow, the process of recognition of our natural fallen nature.Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. The assurance of Jesus comes to tear down the strongholds of desperation and helplessness, with the certainty of His presence, comfort and love.
The world sees mourning as a loss, as a state of sorrow for something that can never be recovered or seen again. The world only knows one kind of mourning, the mourning that Jeremiah portraits in his book when he writes about Rachel’s cry refusing to be comforted for loosing her children for they are no more (Jeremiah 31:15), a feeling of helplessness and lack of hope, not having the ability of seeing what’s beyond. In the Kingdom, the mourning occurs when we, in an attitude of repentance and sorrow for acknowledge our fallen nature; recognize how far we have been away from Him. It’s when we, as citizens of the Kingdom, by the Holy Spirit, become convinced of sin, righteousness and judgment and respond to His calling for repentance, a turn of direction, without looking back. In the kingdom we receive hope again, the assurance that as a consequence of our act of repentance, we can see beyond the sorrows of this world and hope for a greater and better future prepared by Jesus for us (Romans 8:22-24).
The world mourns with remorse, cries for its loss but continues in the same destructive path that led them to very same loss they now mourn and suffer. They look at the situation, they feel sorry but they do nothing to change, they continue, relying on them selves. Take a look at Judas Iscariots, for example, the bible says in Mathew 27:3 to 5 that he was REMORSEFUL, he was sorry for what he had done to Jesus, he even tried to fix it, but in the end his remorse led him to a destructive path, to death. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 10 says: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (NKJ). The sorrow of the world led Judas to his death for he was not truly repented of his sin. On the contrary with Peter, though he had lied, denied the Lord Jesus publicly, when confronted in his actions he repented and never walked in that path again. The godly sorrow led him repentance and salvation in Christ Jesus.
Now, the mourning of the world is also based in condemnation, God’s judgment upon mankind, the salary for sin, death sentenced to every man who has fallen short of God’s glory. The condemnation that is upon the world comes from the act of one man, Adam, by his act all of mankind was condemned and if we continue under the Adamic filiation we will remain condemned. But we in the kingdom we mourn with the confidence that as we cry out to God, as we pour out our hearts to Him, as we confess knowing that God will restore us, as we repent, we turn away from the destructive path without looking back, we are comforted by His Spirit, we are lifted up and the “glory of the latter house becomes greater than the first”. The difference lies in where you stand. If you are in Christ, there’s no condemnation, but the conviction of the Spirit, as He convinces us from sin, righteousness and judgment. Allowing ourselves to be under the Lordship of Jesus will then makes us realize that our mourning will not lead us to sadness or hopelessness but the assurance that we will be comforted by Him (Isaiah 12:1). Though we might find ourselves in a position that has brought sadness into the heart of God, we know that He will bring the comfort we need through forgiveness and restoration. Condemnation will always put us down and will try to keep us there, where conviction will bring edification and restoration.
Do we mourn like Rachel, in a desperate cry, in hopelessness, or do we mourn like citizens of the Kingdom, that no matter the circumstance may be, He will bring comfort to our hearts, restoration and joy. In the well known commentary from Adam Clarke, we can read the following: “…true joy must be the fruit of sorrow”. We can only experience God’s comfort and joy once we have been through the process of sorrow, the process of recognition of our natural fallen nature.Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. The assurance of Jesus comes to tear down the strongholds of desperation and helplessness, with the certainty of His presence, comfort and love.
posted by Dennis Da Silva @ 1:56 PM
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