In this beatitude Jesus is calling the Christian and Christian leader to mourn over sin. For a person to mourn over sin means to be personally grieved or pained in his heart over it. Isaiah the prophet mourned over his sin when He cried out, “Woe to me! 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” — Is. 6:5. Christ is talking about the kind of mourning that leads to repentance. Paul speaks about this in II Corinthians 7:5 where he mentions a godly sorrow over sin. This kind of godly sorrow or mourning leads to true repentance, which consists of a change of mind and lifestyle. This is in contrast to worldly sorrow or mere regret over the consequence of sin, which doesn’t lead to genuine repentance. For example, Judas betrayed Christ, regretted it, and then hanged himself.
Sin is infinitely offensive to God. It contradicts everything in His character. And when you couple that with the love of Christ for us on the cross so that we might be forgiven, we should mourn over our sin all the more and turn from it to a lifestyle that honors God.
Mourning over sin and turning from it is an attitude and practice that none of us will outgrow prior to heaven. Sin will always be a problem in this life. Repentance was required to enter a relationship with God and it is required to maintain a healthy relationship with Him. This includes those who are leaders. In fact, we are to set the example for those whom God has given us to lead.
Christ says that those who mourn over sin are very blessed. You are privileged and favored by God because you shall be comforted by Him. This means that God will forgive you of your sins when you mourn and repent. John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness —I John 1:9. To be comforted also means that God will comfort you for all the pain and sorrow that comes from living in a sinful world. One day Jesus Christ will return from the heavens and at that time he will bring you into the new heavens and new earth where righteousness and peace will reign. At that time, He will wipe away every tear from your eye. You will never mourn again. You will be comforted!
Perhaps, as you read this, you are saying, “I don’t have as deep a sense of sin as I should. What do I do? Three things:
1. Remember and rejoice over what Christ has done for you. He perfectly mourned over your sin for you when He lived a righteous life. He then died to pay the penalty for your lack of mourning and repentance over sin. Remember and rejoice.
2. Ask Christ to forgive you for not mourning over your sin.
3. Read and meditate on the Word. Ask God to show you areas in which you have become insensitive or callous to your own sin. The Holy Spirit will use the Word to bring conviction, which will lead to confession, and then to comfort.
When was the last time you mourned and repented over your sin? Is it a regular discipline in your life as a Christian and as a leader?
3 comments:
It's another paradox that will confuse the spiritually blind but encourage the awakened. Only those that truly mourn over their sin and the sins of the brethren will reap true comfort and joy through the work of Christ. How else will we encounter joy through encounters with many trials (James 1). Since joy and mourning are so tied, Christians shouldn't walk around sad all the time. If we are gloomy persons, it may be because we falsely understand Biblical mourning over our SIN against God equal to sadness over CONSEQUENCES of sin. In simple terms we usually are more upset about the spanking than we are about the sin.
This post on "Blessed are they who mourn" complements Bill's sermon last Sunday on Ruth 4. It struck me that God's hesed (lovingkindness) to Naomi and Ruth is the same hesed that gives comfort to those who mourn over their sin. Naomi didn't deserve God's hesed, and she didn't even seem to mourn over her sin. She was bitter and resentful about her trials, until God's kindness melted her hardness. But we have so much more reason to mourn for our sin, knowing how great Christ's love is. And we also have much more comfort because of his kindness.
Whatever leadership role we have been called to - mourning for our own sin is much more productive than "mourning" over how others might or might not be following our leadership.
This post gives us good things to meditate on! Mourning is really a good thing and an important quality for leaders.
The Spartanburg Evening group had a thought provoking discussion on mourning. The idea of mourning and leadership are not often thought of in the same breath. Yet as we discussed this new concept it began to take hold. Raymond made an insightful connection by connecting biblical mourning with the ability to take the log out of your own eye before you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother. This has great implications for leadership. We are looking forward to next week and the return of some mountain travelers.
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