L. C. FOX-SMITH - 05/05/25: I’ve been reading different passages the last couple of days. I went back to reflect on Matthew 5:4, ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.’ The e-Sword app has been really helpful. I learned that ‘they that mourn’ applies to much more that personal grief for the loss of loved ones: ‘to mourn for the evils of one’s own heart and for the sin and sorrow around’.
It makes me think of how I often behaved badly as a young man in the Navy. When I look back I feel guilty, ashamed and even embarrassed. But knowing that God will forgive me for my behaviour is such a blessing. It shows me the importance of raising my family in a Godly home where I lead as a positive example. I can’t change what I did or said as a young man, but God can change who I am today.
It also makes me think of when we were in Cambodia. My eyes were opened to the evil that humans can commit on each other. There were times when it made me wonder what the point of it all was. How could people be so cruel to each other? I saw so much suffering, ‘sin and sorrow’, and for the first time I realised the world was not what I thought it was. God must be heartbroken to see how His creation behaves towards each other, yet He is still prepared to forgive us all.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. I met people who stood out amongst the brokenness. I saw something in them that was different, unexplainable. When I think of them now I think of Matthew 5:16, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
At the time I didn’t believe in the Lord, but I knew how important compassion was if we wanted to make the world a better place. Knowing that compassion for the ‘sin and sorrow’ we see in the broken world is part of the mourning gives me hope. Knowing that God places it with such importance is inspiring, and knowing that He will comfort those who show compassion is, well, comforting.
It’s absolutely amazing how a short sentence in the Bible can give us so much wisdom, change how we look at the world and even how we act in it. I only read Matthew 5:4 the other week but today it has revealed so much more. So awesome!
How has God's word changed your life?