Those who Mourn

A time to mourn

Those Who Mourn

J.T. Jr., the son of a Methodist circuit riding preacher in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, was out helping cut down trees for a new homestead that was being built by his uncle. A few hours before sundown JT Jr had his feet get caught in some brush and he tripped as the tree he was cutting down came crashing into his legs. Sundown came and went, Jr hadn’t come home. As the community went out searching for him they just couldn’t find him in the utter darkness of the forest at night. Jr laid in that forest until morning with his legs crushed under that huge pine tree. By the time he was pulled free from the crushing weight of the tree his right leg was beyond repair. Jr lost his leg that next day and his dad used part of that pine tree to carve him a new leg. Until his death Jr. reported feeling pain in his leg or he would say that someone was tickling his foot. The day before his death Jr told his son that he never knew why he missed his leg so much, he said you know that leg is what caused me to trip and fall that day, I should have been glad it was gone. But I was just so sad that it had failed me so badly that it had to be cut off.

Oh, the retched pain of loss. The immeasurable hurt and sadness that permeates from the most inner part of the human soul. A deep and penetrating emotion that encompasses both the physical and mental aspects of our bodies. Clarity of the loss is apparent, the permanence of the loss is real, and the inability to reverse it brings about a pain that is hard to describe in words. It is a pain that does not leave in a short amount of time. It is a pain that seems to revisit us continually through out the rest of our lives.

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

Jesus continues in the beatitudes teaching us the next characteristic of a believer given to Christ. Those who mourn are next in the list. But, I need you to understand that this is not just a statement that the sad people in the world will be comforted, NOT AT ALL!

This is a continuation, Blessed (God accepts you and you are aware of it) are those who mourn. You cannot mourn what you do not know. The poor in spirit know Jesus is their Savior and that they cannot save themselves. Those who mourn are those who knowing that Jesus is their savior are saddened and distressed by sin in their lives. Not in missing their sin, but in that their sin is why Jesus had to come and suffer a horrendous murder. Just like Jr’s leg most of us spend time missing what we had before not seeing that that was what had separated us from God in the first place. Cut the leg off, and move on. If you leave the sin in your life it will rot and kill you.

2 Corinthians 7:8-13a

8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted.

We can see the message of Christ here very clearly, mourn what mourns God. Hate what God hates. Sin should grieve our very hearts and souls. The sin that keeps our world in its grasp should sadden us to the very core. Every time we fail the Lord with our sin we should mourn and cut it off. Instead too many just accept that sin and let it rot in our soul. Pushing God farther and farther away from us.

Can we not see that the comfort of the Lord is permanent, eternal and the pleasures of this world are temporary and replaced by punishment eternal?

Luke 15:11–23 ESV

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

Let us choose this day to mourn our sins and cut them out of our lives. Just like the prodigal son we too can be comforted by the Father.

We must admit to sin

We must know we cannot defeat sin on our own

We must despise our sin

We must mourn the separation from God that sin creates

We must repent of our sin

We must cut the sin from our life

He will comfort us!