Matthew 5:4

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

This is one of the beatitudes Jesus taught to the crowd when he went up on the mountain. I’ve heard it said many times, but I’ve never really thought about it much until recently.

How will those who mourn be comforted? Will Jesus come down to Earth and supernaturally put his arms around them …every person who is mourning …all over the world? I know he could do it. Nothing is impossible for him. But I don’t think that is what he meant.

In the story when Jesus fed the five thousand, he told his disciples, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). He encouraged them to get involved, to be part of the solution. Maybe that’s what Jesus is calling us to do here; to get involved, to not only be his “hands and feet”, but also his arms to comfort those who are mourning in this crazy, broken world.

This may be uncomfortable for some, since you can’t actually “fix” the problem; there isn’t a “solution”. In Job 16:2, Job called his friends “miserable comforters” because they were doing just this. They felt helpless and sought to DO something.

Mourners don’t need you to DO something. They just need to know you are there; to share in their loss; to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).