| "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be | | | | not understand why God allows tragedy to strike |
| comforted" (Matthew 5:4). | | | | us, but we can rest in his infinite wisdom and |
| "If you cry, it will get better" is the meaning of | | | | tender mercies. One look at Jesus' suffering on |
| this second Beatitude, says Brittany, age 6. | | | | the cross, and we know he understands our pain. |
| Brittany, if you cry for the right reasons, you will | | | | "This means that those who feel sorry and awful |
| indeed get better because God will comfort you. | | | | for what they did wrong will be comforted by |
| "This verse means to pray for those who are | | | | God," says Avery, 11. Jesus began his ministry by |
| sad," says Todd, 9. "Try to help them take their | | | | reading from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue. He |
| mind off it. Invite them over to spend the night | | | | declared that the Lord had anointed him to preach |
| or to a water park." I don't know if God comforts | | | | the gospel to the poor and to heal the |
| by sending the mournful to water parks, but now | | | | brokenhearted (Luke 4:18). |
| that you mention it, I've never seen anyone | | | | King David wrote that a "broken spirit" and a |
| mourning while slipping and sliding around curves, | | | | "contrite heart" are offerings that most please |
| screaming at the top of his or her lungs. | | | | God (Psalm 51:17). When faced with the |
| "I mourned when my puppy ran away," says | | | | consequences of our own sin and the suffering of |
| Taylor, 11. "I cried for hours, wanting him back, | | | | living in a fallen world, we can harden our hearts |
| but he never came back. We got a new dog, but | | | | and become cynical or open them by crying out |
| I still cry sometimes." All of us experience losses, | | | | to God for help and comfort. |
| but our hearts don't want to accept them. We're | | | | "It means blessed are those who are lonely, they |
| left feeling hurt and powerless. | | | | will be comforted by God," says Marshall, 9. The |
| "'Blessed are those who mourn' means that God | | | | pain of our loneliness can be so intense that even |
| blesses those who have a tender heart," says | | | | our closest friends and relatives can't understand, |
| Sean, 10. No pun intended, but now, we're getting | | | | but God does. He knows we need fellowship with |
| to the heart of the matter. | | | | him and others. The isolation created by self-pity |
| Of all the paradoxes in the Beatitudes, this is the | | | | is never the answer. |
| most dramatic. "It's an astonishing thing to speak | | | | Author Gene Davenport writes: "Genuine comfort |
| of the joy of sorrow, of the gladness of grief, | | | | ... the strength to endure the ravages of the |
| and of the bliss of the brokenhearted," writes | | | | Darkness without bitterness or despair ... is solely |
| Bible scholar William Barclay. Jesus was called a | | | | a gift. It is the expression of God's own presence, |
| "man of sorrows" because he understood the | | | | the assertion of God's own sovereignty over the |
| destructive nature of sin and evil. Yet it was the | | | | Darkness." |
| joy that was set before him that gave him the | | | | Point to ponder: God will heal the brokenhearted |
| strength to endure the cross. Jesus knew that his | | | | when they look to him. |
| suffering would both purchase our salvation and | | | | Scripture to remember: "Blessed are those who |
| please his Father. This gave him great joy and | | | | mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew |
| purpose. | | | | 5:4). |
| We, too, can have joy in the midst of sorrow if | | | | Question to consider: In the midst of your |
| we believe that God's grace and sovereignty are | | | | sorrow, do you believe God is good? |
| greater than any loss or disappointment. We may | | | | |