Our Guest Devotional today is written by Mike Loveridge, assistant Pastor, Manor Park Church
Today we take a look at the next of The Beatitudes. The first four Beatitudes talk of our relationship with God and then the remaining four deal with our relationship with other human beings. So the Beatitude for today is:
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ Matthew 5:4
The word used for ‘mourn’ here is a strong word that is used to describe the type of mourning that follows the loss of a loved one. It is a profound and deep sorrow of the heart that leads to weeping and bitter tears. The natural thought then is that God is saying that he will comfort those who are mourning or in a time of grief. But whilst God does undoubtedly give us comfort in all circumstances (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-4) that is not the main teaching of this Beatitude. This is because The Beatitudes are first and foremost about our relationship with God, not with each other.
So, in this context, what then does it mean to mourn? The type of mourning Jesus is talking about here is the mourning that flows from being poor in spirit. Remember, to be poor in spirit is to recognise that we have nothing from ourselves to boast of and humbly come to Jesus for forgiveness. This humble attitude of the heart leads to two types of mourning:
A sorrow over our own sin
Every genuine conversion starts with recognising our own sin and failings and our desperate need for a Saviour. When we then realise what Jesus, our Saviour, did for us through the power of the Holy Spirit we despise sin because it separated us from God. Once we have faith in Jesus, our awareness of sin is so much greater and we develop a hatred of it that leaves us mourning the sin that still remains.
I wonder whether you have ever mourned over you sin? This deep awareness of our sin is helpful for our ongoing sanctification. Whilst we are still on this earth, we will always be in a battle against the sinful nature we as humans possess. Having a healthy, mournful attitude towards our sinful nature and tendencies will help us to daily put to death the sin which so easily entangles. I say healthy, mournful attitude because for some an awareness of sin leads to paralysis and for those people they need to remember that their sin was dealt with by Jesus upon the cross and He loves you. We mourn our sin because as believers we know that sin is the opposite of loving Jesus. A mournful attitude towards sin should therefore be the norm for every believer.
Ponder the question, ‘Do you mourn the sin in your life?’ and ask the Spirit to give you the power to overcome this sin. And as you do so, remember Jesus has paid the cost for all your sin, so use the mourning of you sin to lead to repentance in the knowledge of an all-forgiving, all-loving Father.
A sorrow over the sins of others
As brother and sister in Christ we not only mourn our own sin but also that of our fellow believers. There are many examples in the Bible where we see individual believers having a strong concern for the church as a whole. Jeremiah 13:17 and Ezekiel 3:18 are just two examples. Our mourning for our fellow brothers and sisters comes from a desire for them to be sanctified and to see them growing in their likeness of Christ. Romans 12:15 calls us to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. So, as our brothers and sisters mourn their own sin we should come alongside them to support, encourage and strengthen. That is how we disciple one another and help each other to grow in our faiths. My sin is different to your sin so just as I can help you, you can help me. Do you earnestly desire other Christians to be growing in their faith and putting sin in their lives to death? If you do then it will lead you to pray regularly for your brothers and sisters and mourn over the sin in their lives.
They shall be comforted
As you mourn is these ways take heart because the second part of this Beatitude is that you will be comforted. The result of mourning sin in ours and others’ lives is that it turns us back to God and God in turn grants comfort to those who seek his help. Sorrow that comes as a result of the Holy Spirit revealing our sin will cause us to look away from ourselves, knowing we are weak and feeble, and instead look up to our Saviour. We can take comfort in our Saviour because we know that it is Him who has justified us, hat upon the cross he dealt with our sin once and for all, so we no longer need to feel its sting.
1 John 1:9
reminds us, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’. The moment we believe in God
we are justified yet we continue to sin long after we are saved. Take comfort
that as a believer in Christ your future is safe and secure as a citizen in
heaven. You are loved and saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus. He has
put His Spirit in you who is at work in you to reveal your sin and to give you
the strength to deal with it.
A Song for today
Purify my heart,
Let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
Let me be as gold, pure gold.
Refiner's fire,
My heart's one desire
Is to be... holy;
Set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be... holy;
Set apart for You, my Master,
Ready to do Your will.
Purify my heart,
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy.
Purify my heart,
Cleanse me from my sin, deep within.
Refiner's fire,
My heart's one desire
Is to be... holy;
Set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be... holy;
Set apart for You, my Master,
Ready to do Your will.
Prayer for today
Loving and gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank you for all of your goodness to us. We thank you for Jesus who through his death made us right with you. Thank you that through faith in you we have been justified once and for all.
We pray today that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to our sin and give us a godly sorrow for that sin. We pray that through the power of your spirit and with the support of your people you will help us to put sin to death and to live lives to bring glory to your name.
Amen
Photo by Ashim D’Silva on unsplash
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