The Fruit of Sorrow

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

Have you ever painted by the numbers? The picture is sketched onto the canvas. Each section of the picture contains a number, which corresponds to a paint color. As you paint the areas with the appropriate colors, the picture comes into view.

The Beatitudes are like a paint-by-the-numbers kit for the Christian life. The more your life is distinguished by these characteristics, the more you show yourself to have real faith in Jesus Christ. You can neither have the characteristics in true measure without first having faith in Jesus Christ, nor can you have faith in Jesus Christ without these characteristics growing in your life.

So when Jesus speaks of the fruitfulness of mourning, he does not mean being sorrowful over a disappointment in life or grieving the loss of someone you love, though those emotions are real and valid. Instead, Jesus teaches that those whose lives bear the fruit of real faith are those who mourn or feel sorry about their sin.

Every sin is an act of rebellion against God. Every sin further breaks the relationship between holy God and sinful man. Every sin requires sacrifice in order to be forgiven. Every sin carried a debt which Jesus paid at the cross. Only when you appreciate how costly sin is by grieving over it can you turn back to the Lord to be comforted by God’s love for you in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul put it this way: “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Father, make me feel worse about the fact that I sin than that I sometimes get caught sinning. Comfort me as I learn to obey.