Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
In the early days of my new life in Christ, the Lord filled me with the promise of forgiveness for my condition of sin as well as for the many wrongful things I had done. There was one particular wrong I had committed that I was compelled to deal with and it wasn’t going to be pleasant or easy. Shortly after my husband and I became Christians we were sent by the Navy to England. It was there that I began to dig deeper into scripture, to grow in my faith, to take stock of my past offenses and to deal with them.
One such offense was against my older brother. Shortly after I received my driver’s license, I was given permission by my dad to drive his car to a football game. With great excitement, I drove the two miles to my high school and successfully parked on a side street. By the time the game ended it was dark and, with little light and even less experience, I pulled out of the space and sideswiped the car parked in front of me. When I pulled into the garage, my parents were not there but my brother was. I begged him to take the blame, pleading that Dad would never let me drive again if he knew I had done it. To my surprise and relief he agreed.
I don’t remember what happened afterward but the memory of the incident haunted me for years until God prompted me to finally deal with it and make amends. I wrote two letters, one to my brother asking for his forgiveness and one to my parents, confessing what I had done to deceive them and asking for their forgiveness as well. To my relief and by God’s grace, all was forgiven and never mentioned again.
Jesus’ blessing of comfort for those who mourn is often misinterpreted. He is not speaking in the context of mourning over someone who has died, rather, it is mourning over our sin. This verse ties in beautifully with the previous one. Remember from our first devotion that the theme Jesus uses is “repentance.” From 2 Corinthians 7:10, we read that, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Without repentance or grieving over our sin there is no comfort! The first step is to come to terms with the condition of our sin that was passed down by Adam and Eve. We must recognize our need for a Savior, and that nothing we do—such as baptism or good works—will absolve us of that sin. The second step is to confess any sinful actions we are involved in or that we are mourning or convicted about. Just as the Lord encouraged me to deal with my sinful act against my brother which caused me to mourn, He ultimately brought comfort to my heart. He is encouraging all of us, as Christ-followers, to mourn with grief over our sins, acknowledge them, and deal with them by confession and repentance. Now, confession is one thing; contrition is another. The Bible says “rend your hearts.”
Be broken.
Heartbroken.
Jesus knows all about spiritual mourning over sin—even though He had no sins to mourn. He is also heartbroken for us and mourns over our sins and the sins of the world, and is grieved over the devastating effect it has on us. In Christ, with mourning and repentance, we can be confident that we are forgiven and we can walk with a new, clean heart, infused with hope that provides the comfort that only Christ can give.
Dear God, when we come before You, grieved over our sins, may we confess our sorrow and repent. You promise forgiveness for the sins that have grieved You. Thank you, Jesus, for the blessings You bestow out of our poverty and Godly mourning, and we thank You for the hope of comfort that comes by Your grace. In Your gracious name we pray. Amen.
~ painting by Jan Norton
