“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Lament is an indispensable posture for the person who loves Jesus and loves the same people he loves. Those who do it are “comforted” by the fact that they are loving people in a way similar to the way Jesus loves them and are therefore those whom God deems “blessed.”
Not all tears are created equal. They come in an assortment of stripes and in response to a variety of circumstances. There are attention-getting tears and tears of self-pity, neither of which are the best of tears. I’ve cried enough of them myself to know that they don’t yield their desired results. Then there are tears of repentance and others of joy. I recommend both of those at times appropriate.
Other good tears are shed in grief, uncertainty, confusion, fear, and empathy. In the biblical narrative poets, prophets, and apostles all shed and recommend these kinds of tears as both personally therapeutic and socially potent. “Our tears are sacred,” says Rob Bell. “They water the ground around our feet so new things can grow.”
“There is a time… to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…” Ecclesiastes 3:4
This is an excerpt from a book I hope to publish in the near future on the Sermon on the Mount called: What In The World? Some Moral, Social, and Politically Disruptive Implications of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
As such, I’d appreciate your feedback on this post and others to come in order to make the final copy publish-worthy.
barney wiget 
Thank you for this! Too often we rush past the hurt and try to get into the healing. Today I felt the impulse to ask God for healing in our country, not that it’s a bad request, but I felt my spirit compel me to mourn, to not rush past what is happening with the abuse of authority and the senseless murders that have plagued us. How can we heal when the infection has not been dealt with? So today, encouraged by your words, I mourned. I cannot have the heart of the Father if I do not engage the pain of His children. We want God’s healing, we need it. But if we are to be His hands and feet we must first have His heart. Thank you for sharing this wisdom.
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“if we are to be His hands and feet we must first have His heart.” Thanks for sharing YOUR wisdom and experience!
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