Mourn

“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” Matthew. 5:4

Mourn – Most funerals are traumatic occasions.  Mourning brings about the acute awareness of powerlessness – an essential ingredient in spiritual growth.  Most of the time we operate on the mistaken belief that life revolves around us.  Most of the time we think that tomorrow will be the same as today.  We only see the real picture of our existence when life jolts us and we are reminded that we depend on God’s graciousness for every breath.

Jesus knew that those who were mourning were ready to receive God’s gracious favor.  In fact, he knew that the rest of us, the ones who still think that life is supposed to be the way that we want it to be, are far from the humility needed to find God.  Those who are mourning open God’s heart.  He feels our anguish too.  The Great Hunter-Lover reaches to us.  Unless we have reached the end of ourselves, unless we are broken, like the ones who mourn, we will not notice that God is here.  Mourning is the time when we come closest to full realization of dependence.

This word (pentheo) is almost always associated with death.  Nothing speaks to the human condition more than the grief and loss of death.  No wonder the Jews had professional mourners.  Losing someone is an experience we would almost all rather not have.  But Jesus says that mourning is a gateway to something deeper.  Those who are mourning are experiencing life at the raw edge.  They are on the cusp of the spiritual/physical slice through the universe.  Mourning means that they have given up their self-delusions about control, power and protection.  They know that life is fragile, and that they are not in charge.

Jesus is making a great announcement here.  He is telling us that death is not in charge of life.  Those who mourn loss are experiencing the passage of dying, but God has overcome death.  Dying is a moment of sleep, not the end of life.  In Christ, those who mourn have discovered a great secret.  Life cannot be extinguished by dying.  Everything has changed.  The funeral of a believer may be sad for those still here, but it is a bon voyage celebration for the one whom God has embraced.  Take comfort, all you who mourn, one of His has traveled home.

Today:  I will thank Him for my breath and breathe in the life He gives.  I will remember that this day is a gift that will never come again.

Discover the surprising power in all the Beatitudes by reading my book on these words.