Being Human part 3
In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus gives what is commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon He talks about what we call the beattitudes. I'll just drop a couple of them for reference here. Matthew 5:4-6, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." And on the surface this kind of looks like the old "if-then" scenario that "religious folk" are so fond of. This kind of looks like the lie that the sepernt hissed into Eve's ear way back in the garden of Eden. "If you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil... then you will be like God." If you mourn... then you shall be comforted. But let's really think about it for a minute. Mourning is a great example. You can't fake mourning. That's something you feel. That's something that comes from deep inside. You can't decide to mourn in order to get something out of it. That's not something you do on your own. That's a heart condition. That's having a soft heart. Empathy. Remember when Jesus was fixing to raise Lazarus from the dead? He knew what had happened. He knew what was going to happen. And yet, in the midst of it, we get my dad's favorite Bible verse (the only one he says he can remember). John 11:35, "Jesus wept." Why did Jesus weep? Because He loved Lazarus. Because His friend was dead. And even though He was about to fix that situation... He still felt it. He still experienced it. He had compassion. He mourned for the death of His friend. That's the heart of God. And He wept because the other people who loved Lazarus were sad. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Again, not in order to get something. But because your heart goes out to those people. If someone's happy... be happy with them. Share in their happiness. That bond. That connection. That relationship. In the same manner, if someone is weeping, you don't always have to try to cheer them up. Sometimes they just need someone to be there with them and share their experience. That's a blessed thing to do. More blessed to give than to receive, right? And when you do that... when you love someone... you feel love. When you mourn... you are comforted. You will BE comforted. Mourning is what you go through. Comforted is the state of your being. Sorrow may last for the night. But joy comes with the morning. (A different kind of morning, to be sure, but you get where I'm coming from.) It's not an "if-then." It's Jesus telling us what it means to be who we really are. Because what we do--in this case, mourning--flows from what we believe. The love that is inside comes out. And it comes out in many different ways. It comes out differently depending on the circumstance. Sometimes it comes out as meekness (which is NOT weakness, but is strength under control). Sometimes it comes out as mourning. Whatever the situation calls for... that's what love is. And that is our true innermost being. The hidden man of the heart that is revealed as we let God love us and love each other with that same love. As we receive and release the gift of love that we have been given. Being human is all about love!