A Time to Mourn
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
I used to think that a “morning dove” was a bird that preferred the a.m. But one day in looking through a book on birds, I discovered that the big brown bird wasn’t called a “morning” dove, but a “mourning” dove. The bird was called that not because it likes the early part of the day, but because of the sound that it makes–a little cooing sound that seems rather sorrowful to the human ear, sort of a lamentation. I have watched these birds at my bird feeder, and they seem like such gentle birds. They usually prefer to feed on the ground whatever is spilled from the birdfeeder. I have only seen a mourning dove one time who acted aggressively toward another bird, a cardinal, who was trying to intimidate the dove to fly away from the feeder. But for the most part, they are humble birds who seem to mind their own business. Scripture tells us that Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out on mission to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
What does it mean to “mourn”? This beatitude can be taken one of two ways. The mourning of which many folks associate with this verse refers to the time spent grieving over the death of a loved one. It is a process which takes time, and for some, the grief can last a life time. For others, the grief subsides, but the sadness continues as we miss those who have passed. The only true comfort that the bereaved can rely on is that which comes from “the God of all comfort” (II Corinthians 1:3). Your friends can be there for you, but there is nothing that they can do or say to assuage your sorrow because the pain is so deep and unrelenting. God’s word is a great comfort to me as I study and come to know Him better. To know that my husband, son, and parents are in the presence of Christ with no more pain or suffering, and that I will see them again because of Jesus Christ is the greatest comfort. As I continue to live in this sin-cursed world, knowing that there is a “better country”, as the writer of Hebrews (11:16) defined heaven, keeps me going.
However, while God does comfort us in times of loss, I think Jesus was speaking more specifically to the kind of mourning that one exhibits over his or her sin because all the other beatitudes have to do with how we give evidence of our relationship to Christ. For example, to be “poor in spirit”, “meek”, “merciful”, and “pure in heart”, to name a few, are the qualities that are found in those who are blessed to be called God’s children (Matthew 5:3-12). For a person who has emptied himself or herself of his or her own selfish desires and realized his or her own impoverished status, he or she is completely mortified, that is, ashamed and grieved over his or her sin coming into a state of mourning over his or her transgression. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:2 that “It is better to go the the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men: and the living will lay it to his heart”. This seems like a paradox. Most people would rather feast than mourn, but the prospect of death has a profound effect upon how a person conducts his or her life and on one’s eternal destination. Funerals are a stark reminder that we will eventually go the way of all mankind. Solomon continued by stating that “Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Laughter is a brief respite from the challenges of life, but sadness tells us who we really are and gives us incentive to examine our lives.
One can’t know joy and the peace of and with God until they first experience godly sorrow over one’s sin. When we commit sin, it throws up a barrier between the Lord and us. True mourning over our sins leads to repentance and a restoration of fellowship with Christ. There is no comfort like that of knowing that one has been forgiven and is in right standing before our holy God.