mamaberyl
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Alabama
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Message Posted: Aug 17, 2009 9:09:00 AM
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
When I researched what this verse meant, this is what I got. I tend to take things at face value, and I thought "mourning" in this verse was talking in reference to the death of a loved one. But Jesus was talking about me in my sinful state.
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us.
St. Gregory describes another reason to mourn: the more one ascends in meditation of Divine Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, and then realize the poverty of human nature, man can only be left in sorrow. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition. But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and hopefully one day in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right!
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mamaberyl
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:10,448
Points:652,490
Joined:May 2007
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Message Posted: Aug 14, 2009 8:16:11 AM
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timothyu
Champion Author
Winnipeg
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Message Posted: Aug 13, 2009 3:10:13 AM
The best lesson IMO from Beatitudes is that there is no condemnation, criticism, pushing away. It is a positive message of thou shalts.
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mamaberyl
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:10,448
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Joined:May 2007
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Message Posted: Aug 12, 2009 10:57:59 PM
There used to be and there was a few of us that posted. After two months, inactive topics cannot be brought back up. It has been locked for a long time. The Lord laid it on my heart to start another one. I am hoping to make this a good discussion.
Let's start with this one;
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I found this explanation on the internet, it fits this one perfect;
"Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God.
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masonco
Champion Author
Michigan
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Message Posted: Aug 12, 2009 6:20:49 PM
Wasn't there a beatitude discussion before & you & I were the only ones really involved?
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mamaberyl
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:10,448
Points:652,490
Joined:May 2007
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Message Posted: Aug 12, 2009 4:25:09 PM
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mamaberyl
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:10,448
Points:652,490
Joined:May 2007
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Message Posted: Aug 11, 2009 10:44:10 PM
The Beatitudes, to me are like the fragrance after the rain. The sky first thing in the morning, when the sun is coming up, or the one chance at seeing the sun going down on the ocean. The colors that play across the sky can only come from the Lord. He is the Master Painter after all.
I love the way they are written. There is so much love in the Bible from the Lord, it is God's Love Letter to us after all. But there is just something about these eight verses that just really touch me at the right time. I put them right up there next to The Ten Commandments. They are a promise from Jesus.
The Word of God is inerrant, so there is nothing to debate.
Share how you fell about these verses, what they mean to you, how they have helped you at different times.
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