The attitudes that should come out of Christian citizens builds upon one another. We start at the bottom by acknowledging our poorness and absolute spiritual bankruptcy apart for Christ. Then we realize of our own sin. From brokenness and humility to repentance.
Blessed are those who mourn. – Because we are aware of our sinfulness and the price, we cannot pay we begin to realize the extent of our sin. When you are made aware of your sin it can be an overwhelming feeling. We are promised that we will be comforted. If we are willing to go through the pain, shame, and guilt of self-discovery then you will be comforted.
Isaiah has a similar experience.
So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah gives us the perfect glimpse of what a vision of God should do to us. It should cause us to look upward and inward and acknowledge out sinfulness. Not only to acknowledge but to go a step further and mourn over it.
Ill: Nana – Was my favorite person on earth. When she passed away I was devastated even though I knew it was coming. I had spent time at the nursing home with the family and then I left early and she passed after I left. I still remember the soul crushing blow I felt when I heard the news. We gathered as a family before and after the funeral to tell stories and reminisce. When a close family member or friend dies we mourn for them. We spend time thinking about what life was like with them, the good times we had. We remember how they made us feel and we realize there will now be a whole in our lives where they once were.
We are to mourn over our sin. To think of the times we have let God and others down then to move on from that. Not only our sin but the sin of the world around us. We can very easily see and feel the evil that is in our world. We should mourn over that. Mourn that our family, friends, and loved ones are not living the way God wants them too. So its not just our sin that we mourn but it is also the sins of others.
Mourning is not all bad sometimes it causes us to think about how it could be. As we mourn over our sin it should spur us on to do better. To picture what a positive outcome of our faith could look like. Mourning leads to HOPE.
What should this cause us to do?
- Seek personal holiness and repentance.
- Seek to live by example in such a way to change the world.
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 peter 3:15
Let’s not forget the reward or promise. You will be comforted. We have a God full of grace that will not continue to hold our sin against us instead he comforts us.
How
- The holy spirit.
- The truth of his word.
- The people of God.
As we look at the beatitudes, we see a progression that flows from poor in spirit to mourning then from meekness to seeking God. It all starts with humility. Humility that causes us to turn from our own sinfulness by comparing my sinfulness to God’s holiness then humility that causes me to look upward and seek to please God because how worthy he is.
