An Ordinary Day

As I mentioned yesterday, I am looking at the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) in my daily devotions. Here are some thoughts on verse 4.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Mourning here refers to grieving over my own sin. John MacArthur, citing 2 Corinthians 5:10, describes mourning as the godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation. This kind of sorrow produces repentance and results in forgiveness. To be comforted, in this context, is to be forgiven from my sins. As I must come to a place where I see myself as I really am, spiritually impoverished, before God, I must come to a place where I realize my sinfulness before receiving forgiveness. I need to be truly sorry, not just for the consequences of my sins, but for the sins themselves. Only then, can I receive forgiveness from God. Being forgiven, I can experience great joy!

Because of the kindness of others, my wife was able to enjoy “an ordinary day” at home with our four-year-old son on Monday. This got us to talking about ordinary days. Today, my wife shared with me these quotes she read.

The very pleasures of human life men acquire by difficulties. – St. Augustine

There are times when the entire arrangement of our existence is disrupted and we long for just one ordinary day – seeing our ordinary life as greatly desirable, even wonderful, in the light of the terrible disruption that has taken place. Difficulty opens our eyes to pleasures we had taken granted. – Elisabeth Elliot

In other words, we cannot truly appreciate the ordinary days without having experienced the days filled with disruption.