Why do we mourn, what is it that is happening in our being. It’s more than emotional, it’s something that cuts to the core of our spirit.  To mourn is to actually suffer a loss that can never be recovered.  To lose a spouse, father or mother there is a deep loss, an emotion separation.  Jesus says these words:

“Blessed are those that mourn: for they shall be comforted” Matthew 5:4

Jesus is telling us that to be human, to be part of this fallen world, we will mourn.  We will mourn the loss of a dear one to death.  The loss of a Job, Loss of a family through divorce, a loss of an ability through disease.  We will mourn because we will always have some kind of loss, there is no stopping that.   This cruel awful place takes from us without relent and gives us one thing, and that is mourning.

The Blessing is that they will be comforted, but comforted by what?  Maybe knowing that if our loved one who died is in Christ they are now in Heaven with Jesus.  Knowing that God is totally in control of this world.  There is not even a hair that is lost from our head or a sparrow thrown from a nest that the Father of all doesn’t know about.  How much more does he care about our eternal soul, and He brings us comfort.

He tells us we are more than just cogs, that this machine is not some watch that he winds up and walks away, but every detail is in his eternal grip.  He hasn’t let us fall, even though we mourn, our loss is going to be ultimately for His glory.

This morning my son and I read the 1st question in the Heidelberg Catechism, and amazingly God providence is opening my eyes on this passage.   The question is this:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

What awesome and amazing truth from scripture. As a christian, I am not my own, I’ve been purchased by Jesus Christ, my faithful Savior.  What a promise, the tyranny of the devil can’t harm me.  We will mourn, but be comforted – God is in control!

Picture by Tom Pumford