The beatitudes are Jesus’ paradoxical blessings for those awaiting the Kingdom of God, contrasted to the lesser ‘blessings' the kingdom of this world offers. In them, we see the way to blessing is not through, but within, poverty of spirit, mourning, persecution, meekness, etc. As we look this week at mourning, we see the way to experience our poverty of spirit. Within the mourning of our sin, the suffering of others, and the curse of death, we see how the comfort of the full reality of God’s Kingdom pieces into the present realities of our shame, sorrows, and sufferings. In the second beatitude, we’ll look at the what, how, and hope of mourning and see the gospel promise of comfort for those awaiting the future hope of the world begun now in Jesus Christ.
