Mourning

"Blessed are they that mourn: For they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

I chose this Scripture due to the nature of today, September 11th. This article serves as a reminder to myself to depend upon God at all times, especially during trying times. Some think it bad to cry out to God more during the stressful times. Whether it is or isn't becomes mute, because each person has to be held accountable for him/herself only (Philippians 2:12).

The above Scripture has three (3) main focal words: "Blessed", "mourn", and "comforted".

BLESS

The New Testament refers to "bless" quite often, in many grammatical forms, such as: Bless, blessed, blessing, etc. The Scriptures found in Matthew, verses three through 11 (Matt. 5:3-11) are referred to as the "beatitudes". Beatitude simply means "supreme happiness" or "a state of utmost bliss".

Jesus presents the Beatitudes in a positive manner; virtues in life which ultimately lead to reward. Love becomes the motivation for the Christian. There are eight (8) beatitudes found in the gospel of Matthew. The word, "blessed", is referenced using four (4) different Greek words, each with a layer of meaning that varies somewhat from word to word.

"Eneulogeo" means "to confer a benefit on" and is found only twice in the New Testament: Acts 3:25 and Gal. 3:8.

"Eulogeo" means "to speak well of" and is found 44 times in the New Testament, one of which is James 3:9.

"Eulogia" means "eloquent speech" and is used 16 times in the New testament, one of which is Ephesians 1:3.

"Makarios" means "spiritually prosperous". Last, but certainly not least, we have a completely different word translated "blessed", which meant "happy" in the ancient world, but in the New Testament, adds the idea of "spiritual prosperity" to "happy". "Makarios" is used 58 times in the New Testament, in such passages as the "beatitudes" of Matthew 5:3-11.

MOURN

Now that the idea of "blessed" has been discussed, we now turn to "mourn". "Mourn" means to feel or express grief or sorrow. Regret over our sins and the sins of this world is expected. We should humble ourselves before God and take time to appreciate all that He has given us; acknowlege how good and merciful He is. In this Scripture, "mourn" refers to blessing, because mourning our imperfect humanity creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right! So what happens when we mourn? Read on!

COMFORTED

The word "comforted" means "to give strength and hope to", "cheer", "to ease the grief or trouble of". On a sidenote, the "Holy Ghost" (John 14:25-6) is often referred to as "the comforter". The Holy Ghost (John 3:33-34), or sometimes called "Holy Spirit", is one part of the trinity: The Father (God), the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.

SUMMARY

The Scripture again states, "Blessed are they that mourn: For they shall be comforted." Rephrased, it says, "Spiritually happy are those people that regret the fall of mankind and the sin that came into the world: For the people that do so will be given strentgh and hope to ease the grief and trouble".

This is only one of the eight beatitudes. Hopefully, this article has provided some enlightenment to you spiritually.

All comments/suggestions are welcome.

Have a blessed day!