Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ~Jesus
“When they begin to live to Christ they begin to mourn. Every child of God is born again with a tear in his eye. Dry-eyed faith is not the faith of God’s elect. He who rejoices in Christ at the same time mourns for sin. Repentance is joined to faith by loving bands, as the Siamese twins were united in one.”
“I have heard it said that repentance is “merely a change of mind.” I wish that those who so speak had undergone that change.”
“Wherever there is a real forgiveness of sin, there will be real sorrow on account of it.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
One might almost translate this second beatitude 'Happy are the unhappy' in order to draw attention to the startling paradox which it contains. . . . [T]hose here promised comfort are not primarily those who mourn the loss of a loved one, but those who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness, their self-esteem. It is not the sorrow of bereavement to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance. ~John Stott
The Beatitudes serve as a preamble to The Sermon on the Mount. And when one reads the words of Jesus, one should have the sense that it is not enough to keep The Law as every sin begins in the heart. I imagine that Jesus wanted to discomfort as many people as possible. But His goal wasn't to be irritating but to show what makes us happy. When we realize what our true nature is we should mourn, or feel sorry, for who we are. It is this person that Christ died for. And this is indeed is a comforting thought!
