Upside Down 2 // Blessed are those who Mourn

Last Week

• Blessed are the poor in spirit [spiritually bankrupt without Jesus]
• You are accepted, loved unconditionally, forgiven, and valued

Matthew 5:4

• ESV: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
• MSG: You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

Good Grief?

• To be comforted and to comfort others
• To clarify purpose

Three Ideas on Grief

1. Grief is love unfinished
2. Grief helps us focus on faith and hope
3. Grief is a powerful vehicle to display God’s glory

Two Ways to Consider this Beatitude:

• Grieve Our Sin // 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 (MSG):  You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart.
•  Move Beyond Brokenness // Revelation 21:3-5 (ESV): I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Shared Grief

• Grief shared is half grief; Joy shared is double joy. ~ Honduran Proverb
• Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (ESV): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Take-Aways

1. What sin do you grieve?
2. How is God moving you beyond brokenness?
3. How can/will you glorify God?

Reflection Questions

1. What are the two ways today’s Beatitude can be read and understood?
2. What sin do you grieve?
3. What does it mean to be comforted so we can comfort others? Reflect on 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 and think about the relational purpose of grief in the heart of God.
4. How is God moving you beyond your own brokenness? How does this clarify your purpose?
5. How can/will you use this purpose to glorify God?