Mourning Brings Comfort
In Jesus’ famous sermon He mentions eight things not usually associated with happiness. Most of them are considered painful and all of them are thought difficult to achieve.
The first item on the list is “Poor in Spirit” and the second is “Mourning,” which is to say, it starts off badly and gets worse. Poor in Spirit we dealt with in the last post so we’ll talk about mourning now.
Remember that the common thread through the first section of this sermon is happiness and it seems very out of place. The eight things mentioned sound more anti-happy. We think happy people are those who avoid them and Jesus is suggesting something completely different.
The truth is every person experiences every item on the list and we see them as negatives to avoid. Jesus is suggesting they can lead to a positive outcome. Read more
Poor In Spirit
The way to happiness, according to Jesus, is not only different to what we assume but the very opposite of what we think. The very thing we try to avoid is what Jesus says will generate happiness.
Jesus actually names eight painful, or at least uncomfortable, things that we must explore if we would be happy. On the surface this doesn’t make sense. Jesus is teaching us to do what we have been culturally preconditioned to avoid and the first stop we must make is “Poor in Spirit.”
“Poor in Spirit” is a condition we must embrace, a choice we make, a place we intentionally visit. If this was processed involuntarily why mention it. That’s like saying everyone whose heart beats will live. The reward for embracing “Poor in Spirit” is the Kingdom of Heaven. Not citizenship but position. Read more
Sermon on the Mount – Happiness
Jesus spoke to us as individuals but He spoke about issues common to us all. We are all different in some ways but very much alike in others and Jesus addressed Himself to the areas we have in common.
For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke to an issue that is universal…happiness. In most translations the word used for “happy” is “Blessed” but the two words are synonymous and Jesus used the word nine times in the first nine verses of His sermon. Obviously, “Happy” is healthy and He was telling us that He is for it. Everyone wants to be happy and Jesus wants us to be so. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration