Welcome back to the second part of the Beatitudes! I’m really excited about sharing this with you.
Just a quick recap: The Beatitudes are teachings Jesus shared to us, His Followers - His Disciples, as a spiritual standard on how to live our lives. How we live matters! The choices we make matter!

The first one talks about being POOR in SPIRIT. Which is seeing ourselves in a humble and lowly way, to see our guilt and need. Like a beggar we have nothing to offer and everything to gain. Even our life - our breath is dependent on God.

So, let’s dive in to see what else Jesus has to say.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4

Do you remember what we said Blessed means? BLESSED in this text, in it’s simplest form, means happy, to be envied.

Jesus telling us we are happy when we mourn seems counterintuitive.

Mourn here means lament, which is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
It is when we experience the sorrow of repentance.

I became a Jesus-Follower at 16 and I remember the impact of realizing my need for a Savior and the delightful feeling of being light and cleansed. It was several years later, I was married with kids, I was walking down the stairs when I was hit with the heaviness of what my sin cost Jesus. It was a whole new understanding about the choices I made every day that sent Him to be broken and to die for me. I sat there on those steps, holding the towels and wept. I wept for being nonchalant about His sacrifice for me and casual about the sin I chose daily. That was lament. That was a moment of mourning.

Why is it so important that Jesus would set this is as a standard in our lives? Why is mourning our sin and repenting - daily - crucial?

This is a big Bible word: Sanctification. That is the process of becoming righteous, holy - like Jesus. It is a daily practice. Unlike Justification, which is a one and done deal. It is what happened when we first asked God to forgive our sins.

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,
tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s
kindness leads to repentance?”
Romans 2:3

We are reliant on the kindness of God to show us where we are sinning and then His mercy to forgive those sins.

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham,’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.”
Luke 3:8

It’s not enough to say we go to that church or our family has been Christians for generations or list all the things we have done for God. We can only be transformed when we repent, are baptized and live a life of obedience. And living out what Jesus is teaching us here is part of it.

The merciful promise that Jesus shares with us is after we grieve and repent from our sin we will be comforted!
We are not left alone in our despair, loneliness, fear and doubt.

I love this picture because it’s a calling to, an invitation to be consoled and encouraged.
We are allowed to come to God with our grief, disappointment, anger. All of it.

“Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!”
Psalm 65:4

For awhile now God has been showing me about how He draws us near. He is always open-armed. He never says “Go and get straightened out then come back.” He is always there waiting and ready for us.
I had to recently apologize to my kids and their spouses because I know I didn’t always get that right when they were younger. We can stand there in our tantrum - our anger - our doubt with fists clenched and snot running down our faces and He lovingly opens His arms.
Have I said how much I love this picture of God inviting us to come to Him?!!!

“Guard your heart above all else, for it
determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23

We all can picture guards standing ready to keep the enemy out and we know that we need to be diligent about keeping out the negative and unhealthy things from our hearts, minds and lives. But what if it can also mean that we are to protect the good, positive, healthy things in our hearts, minds and lives? I think that can help us walk in obedience and victory!

I pray that you will know how much you are loved and respond to God’s call to comfort you.

Have the most amazing day, Chosen of God!!! You matter! How you live matters!
All My Love,
~ Jodi

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