Blessed are Those Who Mourn // Matthew 5:4

Today’s Beatitude tells us that those who mourn will be comforted and therefore blessed. I don’t know about you, but the times I’ve encountered grief are the same times I feel farthest from blessing. There are several ways scholars have approached this teaching, ranging from grieving our sin, which separates us from God; recognizing that God allows suffering so we can see where we end and He begins; to moving the longing of our heart from earth to eternity where we will find God’s constant comfort. Regardless of how we view it, the bottom line is to receive the comfort we need when we need it most. All too often we retreat and withdraw when we mourn, but we are not to do this life alone. This gets to a promise in the Scripture that should orient our living regardless where we are in our grief: “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” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, ESV). We find blessing when we receive comfort from God and others, as well as committing to provide comfort for others who suffer similarly, too. May that be one of the primary aims of our lives as we get closer to eternity each and every day.