| Those Who Mourn by Rose Murdock
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"Blessed are they that
mourn; Why didn't Jesus say, 'you're blessed when everything goes your way'? Isn't that what a blessing is, something good that happens? Don't you have a tendency to think that when all is well, when things are running smooth in your life, then you are really blessed? God must be smiling on you because everything is hunky dory? But yet Jesus said you're blessed when you mourn. Why did He say that? He said you're blessed when you mourn because you'll be comforted. If you don't ever mourn then you don't ever know how good comfort feels. You've probably heard people say, if it never rained you wouldn't appreciate the sunshine. If it was never dark, you wouldn't appreciate the light etc. It's true. Just like when Jesus said that he who is forgiven of much loves much. If you didn't understand the depth of God's forgiveness towards you then you wouldn't love Him as much. You wouldn't appreciate His forgiveness that much if you didn't understand how much He's forgiven you of. In the same way, if you never mourned, you'd never appreciate a life free from loss. And comfort wouldn't feel as good. Of course He's not talking about being sad just for the sake of being sad. But rather, a true, sincere mourning because you know the value of what was lost. You mourn because something was lost and you recognize the value it contained. You mourn over death because you know the value of life. You mourn a sickness because you know the value of health. You mourn the loss of a job because you know the value of that job and it's provision, you mourn the loss of a vase because you know the value of that vase. Your grief is heartfelt and sincere and not something you do to try and gain sympathy, pity, or earn points with God. You are blessed because seeing the value in things around you will cause you to appreciate and love those things. Hopefully you will treat those things (including people) with respect and love because you see their value. Of course, if you lose those people or things then you will mourn. But in the end you're blessed because you knew their value while they were with you. Living without recognizing the value of the people in your life, your job, your possessions etc. will cause you to feel empty inside. If you don't see the value in what's around you then of course you won't mourn so much if those people or things are lost. But yet you won't experience the joy, love and appreciation that comes as a result of valuing them while they're in your life either. Does Jesus mean that you look to be sad and mourn just so you can get this comfort blessing from God? No. Instead, look for the value in the people and other things in your life and begin to appreciate them. Begin to enjoy the good things you have now, recognizing their value. They are there. You do have people and things of value in your life. You might not recognize them now as valuable but ask the Lord to open your eyes to their value so you can begin to experience the appreciation, the love and the joy that they were meant to bring. Don't be afraid to feel. Don't be afraid to love or to appreciate the good that's in your life and to express your love and appreciation to others. And also, don't be afraid to mourn the loss of those things if it happens because in the end, God's comfort will be the greatest blessing of all. Matthew 5:4, Luke 7:47
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