Blessed Are Those Who Mourn 哀恸的人有福了
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will receive comfort ”
Author：Rev Paul Tong
Today, let's look at the second blessing mentioned in Jesus’ teachings on the mount. Similar to the first blessing, the second blessing is different from the blessing we commonly understood, which always refers to tangible benefits or earthly gains. A man is blessed not because of the act of mourning itself, but because he responded to God’s Word in the right attitude.
Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2, 4:17).
When we respond to Jesus with grief over sin, we receive comforts from the Holy Spirit. This comfort is a confidence in God’s forgiveness and acceptance. After we repented and accepted Christ, we were reconciled with God. However, this relationship needs to be renewed by day-to-day repentance. When we are inspired by the Word, we are able to see the foolishness the world pursues, the wickedness rooted in human nature, the vulnerability and helplessness in life, and the tragic ruin of human destiny. This awakening causes us to mourn and then receive the comfort from the promises in the Word.
We can exercise spiritual mourning in the following four areas:
1. Repent everyday: Read the Bible daily. Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the Word which is like a mirror that reflects our spiritual and moral conditions (James 1:21) and also like a sword that cuts to our heart and prompt us for repentance (Acts 2:37; Hebrew 4:12).
2. Give thanks always: Jesus paid for our sins with his own life. There is nothing good or big enough that we can do to pay back for what He has given us. We cannot take God’s grace for granted. So, always reflect on God’s priceless grace, allowing the tears of gratitude to fall (ref. Luke 7:39-37).
3. Surrender willingly: Put aside selfish desires and surrender to God’s perfect will. Matthew 21:28-31, in the parable about the two sons struggling with obedience to their father, it reveals the fact that the younger promptly promised to do father’s will but disobeyed finally; on the contrary, the elder son opposed father's will initially but obeyed finally. Meditate on God’s will until we are willing to obey.
4. Sowing persistently: “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5). Repentance which brings transformation of life is a good testimony to the people surrounds us. However, to bring someone to Christ may need many years of tearful prayer and diligent sowing. Persist, till we harvest with joy.
In the four areas mentioned above, to practice repentance is most important because if we quench the Spirit while being prompted to repent, our hearts will gradually become hardened or apathetic, and eventually we will even reject Christ.
“哀恸的人有福了！因为他们必得安慰。 ”
作者：董明汉牧师
今天，让我们来思想耶稣登山宝训中所提到的第二个福气。与前个福气相似，此福气与我们一般理解的有所不同。人们对福气的普遍理解总是与有形的收益或今世的得着有关。而这里所指的福气，则与神的国度有关。一个人之所以得福，不是因为哀恸的行为本身。而是因为他能以正确的态度，来回应神的话。
耶稣宣告说：“天国近了，你们应当悔改！”（太3：2，4:17）。
那些为罪痛悔，以哀恸来回应耶稣的人，他将得到圣灵的安慰。这安慰是从神的应许而来的，是关于在基督里得着的赦免和接纳。悔改接受基督，与神和好之后，我们须每天持续地对罪悔改，以保持与神美好的关系。我们的思想需常被神的话提醒而更新。神的话可以我们看见世界追求的空虚，看到植根于人性的邪恶，看到生命的脆弱和人类毁灭性的结局。这种觉醒将促使我们哀恸。然后，就会得到神应许中的安慰。
为能有属灵的哀恸，可以进行四方面的操练：
1. 每天悔改：要每天读圣经。读经时，先除去污秽和邪恶，心存温柔的来领受所栽种的道（雅各书1:21）。这道就像一面镜子，能反映我们的属灵和道德状况；又像一把利剑，能刺入我们的心，使我们认罪悔改。
2. 常常感恩：耶稣用自己的生命来偿还我们的罪过。而我们并不能行某样好事或伟大的事来偿还。所以，要时常思念神，让神的恩惠、宽恕之恩感动我们的心，流下感激之泪（参路加福音7：39-37）
3. 甘愿降服：要除去自私，将个人心意降服于神完美的旨意。马太福音21：28-31，描述了关于两个儿子为顺服父亲而挣扎的比喻。这个比喻指出，小儿子顺口就答应父亲的，但最后，没有履行所答应的事。然而，大儿子最初拒绝，但后来顺从。所以，要常默想神的旨意，直到我们愿意服从为止。
4. 坚持播种：诗篇126:5说：“流泪撒种的，必要欢呼受割！”悔改带来生命的改变，是给周围人的美好见证。然而，要带人信主，就没有那么容易。它需要多年的含泪祈祷和辛勤播种。所以，要坚持不懈，直到欢呼地收割。
以上所述的四个操练，悔改的操练是最重要的。因为如果我们被圣灵责备而需要悔改时，我们却熄灭圣灵的感动，我们的心就会逐渐变得僵硬或冷漠，最终我们甚至会拒绝基督。