Spiritual Mourning - Beatitudes #2

"Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4

The thought that happiness could be connected with mourning is diametrically opposed to the conventional wisdom of today's culture. If there is one thing that the world tries to avoid it is mourning. Everything that the world has to offer is designed to promote happiness. Yet the Lord said that happiness, even blessing, can come through mourning. How is this possible?   To understand we first need to understand what Jesus meant by mourning.

The bible speaks of three types of mourning; the type of mourning that results from sin, natural mourning (i.e. resulting from loss), and biblical mourning (like Jesus speaks of here). 

First, there is mourning that results from sin.  A good example of this is the account of Cain mourning over the consequences of the murder of his brother, Abel.  "Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."  (Genesis 4:13-14)  Cain is mourning over the situation he finds himself in as the result of his sin.

Next, we see mourning resulting from loss.  Mourning, as spoken of by the Lord in the Beatitudes, has nothing to do with the sorrow or sadness that we experience naturally at the loss of a loved one or some other tragedy.  It is quite natural to mourn over events that bring us sorrow and while the Lord's comfort does extend to these situations, there is a more specific application of this verse.

Finally, there is spiritual mourning.  As we learned in Poor in Spirit, the first step in the salvation process is acknowledging that we are totally poverty stricken spiritually.  The second Beatitude turns our attention to the result of seeing our own spiritual bankruptcy.  Isaiah exemplifies the idea of spiritual mourning in Isaiah 6:5, "Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 

The bible shows two aspects of spiritual mourning.  The first aspect is that initial moment of mourning when we realize our sin.  The bible calls this "godly sorrow" as seen in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."  Initial Mourning refers to "godly sorrow" that always precedes genuine conversion.  This "godly sorrow" is exemplified in Acts 2:37, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The second aspect of spiritual mourning is continual mourning.  Spiritual mourning is not confined to that initial experience that leads us to repent of our sins. It is something that persists even after our initial salvation.  The truth of the matter is, the closer we get to God, the more mournful we become over our sin, knowing that it dishonors Him. "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." (Psalm 51:3—4)

With this understanding of what Jesus was talking about when he said "blessed are those who mourn" is becomes more apparent how comfort comes to those who are motivated to do something about their sin.  There is comfort in salvation.  The sorrow and heaviness of heart that is found in the repentant sinner is soon replaced with comfort as this lost soul comes to Christ in faith and repentance.  This comfort comes as we experience the free and full pardon of sin.  Comfort is not only received at the time of salvation, but it is something the child of God continues to experience.  As the child of God finds himself guilty of sin, he mourns over that sin, which in turn leads him to confess and forsake his sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)