November 15: You Mourn Because of Your Sinfulness

By Bassey Ekong
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Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." This sermon offered by Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the mount, was a collection of truths designed to prepare His followers for His kingdom, which involved a lifestyle radically different from the world’s. Indeed, these beatitudes will continue to be used as some of the reference points by us Christians who occupy Gods kingdom on earth as fruits of our spiritual lifestyle different from non-Christians.

In the Bible, blessed usually means "happy." But in the context of Matthew 5 (the beatitudes), blessed indicates "an enviable state." When a person has acquired good fortune, we refer to him or her as “blessed.” In the Beatitudes, Jesus reminds us that we are “blessed” who appear to be quite the opposite to the worldly standards. People who “mourn” don’t seem to be “blessed,” according to most other people. Jesus is contrasting the world’s idea of happiness with true blessedness, and spiritual prosperity which comes from a right relationship with God.

The term mourn means “to experience deep grief.” In keeping with His theme of spiritual blessedness, Jesus seems to indicate that this mourning is due to grief over sin. The people who agree with God about the evil of their own hearts can attain an "enviable state of blessedness," due to the comfort they receive from communion with the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Comforter (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 2 Corinthians 1:4).

The Spirit comforts those who are honest about their own sin and humble enough to ask for forgiveness and healing. Those who hide their sin or try to justify it before God can never know the comfort that comes from a pure heart, which also ties in with what Jesus also stated in Matthew 5:8. Note: God desires for all of us, the human kind, to be blessed. He wants us to learn the principles of His kingdom and to use them for our good. The beatitudes are the qualities of a kingdom person.

Let’s pray: Our Father, thank You for opening Your kingdom and teaching us how to gain it and belong in it. Help me never to be happy about my sins but to always mourn and come to You with a broken and contrite attitude for You to comfort me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19