"Blessed are Those Who Mourn...

for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4, NASB)

Jesus just confounds me. And maybe it's only me, but somehow I doubt it. How can those who mourn possibly be "blessed"?

First of all, I think I have to overcome my American preconceived notion of what blessed means. I should have posted this link with my previous post Blessed are the Poor... Reading Ann Voscamp's take on who really is poor... puts into perspective that what we in the U.S. call blessed quite possibly isn't.

The Amplified Version of this word helps me understand what biblical blessing may include: "a happiness produced by God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace." 

My favorite version was from The Message though: "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you." I like that.

Once again I believe Jesus was extending an invitation to reach the end of ourselves for that is where His embrace is most dear. But in a culture that believes you should "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and it takes great tragedy to reveal our weakness, how do we daily live as one "who mourns" so that we can find our comfort only in Him? That's a good question for me.

Acknowledging that I don't have a clue how I'm supposed to live this life and at the same time asking Him to draw me closer to His heart so that I am broken by the things that break His is the only place I know to start.