Exploring the Transformative Power of the Beatitudes in Everyday Life
- chelseavincent7
- Jun 16
- 6 min read
Week 2, Day 1
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.
Week 2, Day 2
Take It Seriously
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
Has anyone ever told you to make your bed? Or to put up your toys? Or to put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket? At first you may have thought these tasks were not that important. Maybe you did not understand why it mattered whether your room was clean or dirty. But something happens when you start to clean up your room on a regular basis: you begin to value a clean room and you cannot stand for someone to mess it up.
Like being told by your parents to clean up your room, God commands you to turn away from sin and trust Christ. Disciples of Jesus are to “lament and mourn and weep” over their sin. Jesus expects his disciples to grow in grace so that they start off saying sin is wrong and end up feeling sorrow over sin and its consequences in their lives and the lives of others.
Like cleaning up your room, the more you obey God, the more you feel sorrow over the times you disobey him. At first, you may not understand why certain actions, words, or thoughts are sinful. You may not get why it’s out of bounds for those who want a relationship with God. But the more you turn away from those sins and seek to obey God, the more you value obedience and hate sinfulness.
Father, change what I think matters. As I obey you, help me to love what is true, good, and beautiful so that when I sin I will immediately know how wrong it is.
Week 2, Day 3
Where’s Your Focus?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
What’s your favorite sport to play? Basketball? Golf? Tennis? Do you play at home with friends for fun, or as part of a community or school team? At some point in every athlete’s life he realizes he’s been doing something wrong. It might be his approach to nutrition, his regimen in the weight room, or his mental strategy. The realization of a need for change comes by seeing someone else excel. The example of excellence, whether from a coach or fellow athlete, reveals what is missing in his own approach.
The same is true in Christian discipleship. It’s easy to think you’re doing just fine as long as you keep your eyes on yourself. But when your focus is fixed on God, you are regularly reminded of what is missing in your practice of the faith.
Isaiah tells such a story of how seeing God caused him to realize what was missing in his own life. He had a vision in which the separation between heaven and earth was no more. He was able to see the greatness and glory of the presence of God. As Isaiah took in the sights and sounds of the throne room of God, he began to mourn his sin and the sins of others: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” It was his honesty about what was missing in his life, namely pure speech, that allowed Isaiah to receive the cleansing, correction, and comfort of God’s forgiveness.
Father, work through the Bible to show me who You are, where I am not like You, and how I can be changed by You.
Week 2, Day 4
Remember Me
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
As he was led out of Jerusalem to the place of the skull where he would die in the place of sinners, Jesus was very quiet. But if there had been a soundtrack of what he heard around him that day, you would find it was hardly silent.
First, there were the people. Jerusalem was teeming with pilgrims who had come to the city to celebrate the Passover. The historian Josephus estimated the city’s population swelled to over two million people, twenty times the normal population, during Passover. Many of those people were glad for the entertainment of an execution. They ridiculed Jesus, believing he would save himself if he really was the Son of God.
Then there were the priests. The very people who had arranged for Jesus’s death followed along to make sure he died. As they waited beneath the cross, they mocked him for not saving himself.
Finally, there were the prisoners. Two others were crucified that day along with Jesus. Even as they hung dying, these two men taunted Jesus to prove his identity by saving himself and them.
That is until one of them had a change of heart. He realized that while he was dying as a just punishment of his actions, Jesus had done nothing wrong. In that moment he mourned his sin and sought the comfort only Jesus could give. What he sought he received: Jesus remembered him when he came into his kingdom.
Father, I am a sinner and deserve death. Have mercy on me and give me life through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Week 2, Day 5
Complete Comfort
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
We all sin. Sometimes we say things to people or about people in disrespectful ways. Sometimes we fail to obey the rules of those in authority over us. Sometimes we think too much of ourselves or too little of others. In all of these things and more we sin.
Part of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is mourning or feeling sorry over our sin. But Jesus does not call his followers to mourn over their sin just for the purpose of mourning. He does not want us to always feel down about ourselves and our sin. Instead, Jesus is able to say feeling sorry over our sin leads to blessedness or fruitfulness because it opens our lives to the comfort only God can give.
God comforts those who mourn their sin by leading them into all truth. God comforts those who mourn their sin by teaching them to obey his commands. God comforts those who mourn their sin by giving them a community of other disciples who will bear their burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And one day, God will comfort those who mourn their sin by dwelling with them, being their God and making them his people forever.
On that day, for those of us who have learned to mourn our sin, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Sin will be conquered completely, so there will be no more mourning. We will live in God’s comforting presence forever.
Father, as I learn to feel sorrow over my sin, comfort me through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life now so that one day I will be comforted by you forever.
