Fiction:
Never had I felt at such a loss as I did tonight. More so, watching the clouds fade softly into the brewing night was not helping...it only seemed sort of cliché- like something out of a newspaper...
Daily News Headline:
"Sad woman sits under the moonlight trying to undo her sorry futile state,
and just when she thinks she succeeds, she slips into a state of mortal depression."
"Sad woman sits under the moonlight trying to undo her sorry futile state,
and just when she thinks she succeeds, she slips into a state of mortal depression."
I was sitting on the mahogany brown-toned cushioned armless chair on the veranda reading Beauty for Ashes, a novel written by Dorothy Clark. I couldn't help it; I became deeply engrossed in the nerve-wracking emotions of the character, Elizabeth Fraizer, and how she married a good-for-nothing wealthy man who believed "love" was a myth just because she felt 'safety' was more to be esteemed than 'love.' My phone rang and I sprung back into reality. My own issue had come to find me. Chinedu was the one calling after waiting for his call for eleven days. I picked up my blackberry.
"Hello Chinedu," It did not help that I was shaking in my knees.
"Temisan...we need to talk."
"I have been waiting...for eleven days, and now you need to talk?"
"I'm sorry if I made you wait."
After his apology the silence on the phone became deafening. I started hearing other sounds like crickets chirping in the nearby bush.
"I've found another woman," he blurted.
It took a while for me to absorb that statement. Oh no...my greatest fear had finally found me. I hung the phone up on him and sank to my knees. And I began to mourn over the death of our relationship...
* * * * * *
In this world, we will cry for so many different reasons. It could be for something as little as a broken dinner ware, or something as large as the death of a family member. And the tears will flow like a stream that has no end. Today's category of true celebrities is "those who mourn:"
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5: 4
Something New:
I learned something new and it may not be what you think. I read a document from a Church in Martinsville, and they expatiated on this verse. The word "mourn" used here in Matthew 5:4 was derived from the Greek word "Penthountes." It was the word that Greeks used when they cried over the death of a loved one, the same word they used to express Jesus weeping over Lazarus. It is sorrow deeply expressed- a desperate helpless sorrow. Note that it is used 'when someone dies.'
Something Mundane (not):
As I got into the grind of things I realized that every word Jesus used to represent these celebrities (Beatitudes) indirectly pointed back to God. When He said, "those who mourn," he was not referring to crying about the mundane things in life, like Temisan breaking up with her boyfriend for instance. This one is not about crying over spilt milk. Neither was Jesus referring to the tears that fall over broken glass or shattered dinner ware. NO! He was referring to "mourning/weeping for the DEATH of things of God...or the death of relationships between God and man." Not that God will ever die, change or fade away, it's just that we keep killing the things He has given life to...and we keep nailing His son to the cross over and over again (the Easter message). And this deserves our mourning. It is similar to the death of someone we love.
Something Deeper:
To me, "those who mourn" represent the category of people whose hearts cry because the things of God are dying and people just don't understand. Those who look at the world and try to rescue it with their tears. And yes, God has given the nations to us to recover, and some are successfully taking them back. I'm thinking of a "Mother Theresa" type of attitude here. A broken heart & a shattered spirit. The tears that fall before the action of rescue. When Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus, it was not because He did not know He would raise him from the dead...it was because of something much deeper than that. His heart was bleeding because those who wept did not know three things: He was God, He loved Lazarus passionately, and He could raise Lazarus from the dead.
Do you mourn when you see the death of the things of God? Does your heart bleed when you see the things that were once alive, but now are dead; the things that were once found, but now are lost? Then you may be one of "those who mourn," and you are blessed; you will be comforted.
Photo by Jernvotten (Flickr)
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22 comments:
YES JAY, i mourn everyday for not being able to keep the ten commandment of GOD. Especially, loving thy neighbor as thy self!
Lord Jesus! Jaycee...this is some deep stuff!
Blessed are those who mourn...for they shall be comforted. I suppose our mourning spurs us to action...true godly sorrow leads to repentance, leads to a change
This is so so touching and has touched my soul.Insightful
this is very deep....wow....u got me right here- 'Jesus wept because those who wept did not know three things: He was God, He loved Lazarus passionately, and He could raise Lazarus from the dead. thanks for the enlightenment, makes more sense now.
i mourn for the lost souls, for those whose eyes have been blinded by the enemy and i mourn when i find myself in the waiting room, shedding tears of joy because i know God is going to come through for me.
thanks Jaycee for this revelation
:x
As cliche as this sounds...i have to repeat it....this is some deep stuff.
Everywhere we turn these days...we see that Gods standards are being taken for a ride...its a sad truth that the quest for selfish gratification has taken over the quest for God
@Nitty-gritty...I pray for God's grace to help you fulfill what you know you need to fulfill.
@Writefreak...you got the essence of this post really well! Yes, it was mother Theresa's mourning that spurred her into action...she didn't just sit there and weep, she did something about it. That's what the post is about in a roundabout way.
@Sosexy.....hellloooooo dearie...glad you came to read :)
@Rainyjoy...mourning for lost souls... that touched me. It's even all the more sad when people think they're found already, that they have their lives settled already, and that they don't need anything else. The lack of the knowledge of the existence of God is painful, whereas He is everywhere.
@Jhazmyn...couldn't have said it better: "the quest for selfish gratification has taken over the quest of God." True. That's why those who mourn are not blessed because they sit back and relax, their emotions should get them running on their feet asking God what they can do to salvage the shattered pieces of lives. Thanks...loved your comment :)
This is deep...and a new perspective to the "those that mourn" part. I've heard it interpreted in various ways but never like this...Still reflecting.
"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" (MSG)
So how does the comfort come? If we mourn over lost souls and over the lowering of God's set standards, then i think comfort can only truely come when we offer ouselves as instruments to bring the change we so desire....Or is it?
Still thinking sha...thanks Jaycee.
@Favor's Heart...we're thinking along the same lines. That was exactly why I gave the example of Mother Theresa, because I don't suppose the comfort comes by God giving us a pat on our backs, I think it comes by the fulfillment or satisfaction of being compelled to act on the situation.
It's like the joy that comes from washing dirty dishes rather than just staring at them lying down there in the sink (lol @ my example).
This really reminds me of my post on sowing in tears. When we're moved with grief at the desolation of our communities, and nations we will begin to get on our knees and sow our tears. Not tears because all hope is lost but because we we're linking our hearts to the Father's heart and our prayer then becomes fervent and effectual.
I prayed for God to break my heart for the things that break His a long time ago.
it is amazing how many things that I "mourn" for now, that I didn't before.
Great Post! Like the new redesign as well.
I loved this so much!!!
You rock Jaycee
@Homie...you've just raised something painstakingly important: what is a fervent and effectual prayer? It is one that pushes God to use the very same tools who prayed to Him in the first place. Isn't the effectiveness of the prayer a result of an action? Hmm...deep!
@Michael...I love that prayer and I think anyone who loves God and truly knows Him will at some point pray the same. How can we be complacent when there is trouble in the world? How can our hearts not break at various causes? Thanks for that...
@Harry...you rock too, if I may copy your statement...ha ha ha. (thanks).
They that mourn shall be comforted. This is serious soul searching for me. Thanks Jaycee.
WOW... I never ever understood those who mourn as mourning for the things of God. I saw it more as those who are suffering in life and looking up to God. Indeed, we ought to mourn more when the things of God are not being done... and there is so so much to mourn for. Very touching piece!
Jaycee wow! That answer is very profound. I need to ponder on that.
Jay, God just fostered a reminder to me through this message. I covet that grace to mourn things of God that I have lost in my life. A few things that used to be there and no longer there.
Hmmm... "Create in me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not your spirit from me..." That is my heart cry from the depths after reading this post.
God bless you Mon ami.
- LDP
@Myne...glad that this provoked you in a deep way...:)
@Mwajim...one thing I thought about while I was writing this was that we can cry for so many reasons...yes we cry in suffering...but when someone or something dies, that is a different kind of pain. Even deeper than that are the deaths of the things of God...those things that break the heart of God and should break our own hearts as well.
@Homie...I'll follow suit in pondering...
@LDP...wow. Your comment has made me also ask myself, "what things (visions, goals, values) have been given to me by God that I threw away in the thrash? What things? My heart would definitely be sorrowful should I find out what things...thank God for His ability to renew us, redeem our time, give us 'beauty for ashes,' and 'a garment of PRAISE for our spirit of heaviness.' (Isaiah 61)
DEEP!!!!!!!!!!
thats all i have to say
I am still asking too o Jay. I personally believe mourning takes grace... what do you think?
And yes, thank God for who He is and his ability to make us anew.
- LDP
@BBB...tell me abourrrit!
@LDP...a whole lotta GRACE, I tell ya! Mourning is actually something we can ignore in our subconscious if we're not very careful, considering the kind of world we live in today...anything flies! CNN has so many horrific news in one day, which ones are we going to focus on?
i don't know if this is my most fave of all the beautitudes but it definitely ranks high up there.
there is something about being broken that allows you to i don't know be real first and foremost with God and hopefully with those we love.
so yeah mii likey
@Kafo...why am I not surprised that this would rank high up there for you? A broken spirit draws a person closer to God's heart :)
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