8月20日

標　　題：哀慟的人

經　　節：哀慟的人有福了！因為他們必得安慰。（馬太福音五章4節）

神要我們去經歷祂的喜樂（約翰福音十五：11）。然而，除非先為自己的罪哀慟，我們無法體驗祂的喜樂。如果不為自己的罪悲痛，我們搞不清楚罪驚人的毀滅能力。如果小看罪，就顯示出我們並不瞭解，冒犯全能神是滔天大罪。我們的罪造成神愛子的死亡。罪也使我們虧缺了神的榮耀（羅馬書三：23）。罪不但對他人，也對我們自己造成傷害與痛苦。

聖經上說，那些為罪哀慟的人得以親近神（雅各書四：8∼10）。那些為自己的罪憂傷哭泣的人，是真心地悔改（路加福音四：18∼19）。人不可能悔改，卻不瞭解罪的嚴重性。為罪的後果懊悔，與為得罪聖潔的神而憂傷，是不相同的。認罪不見得等於悔改。只有當我們承認自己的心已經遠離神，並且為自己得罪神而憂傷痛悔，悔改才會到來。

耶穌說，那些為自己的罪哀慟的人，必可得到安慰。他們會更深刻地體驗到神的愛與饒恕。祂無窮的恩典足以赦免最可怕的罪。不要想跳過悔改的過程，去享受喜樂。神不會任你為罪哀慟而不管你，祂會饒恕你、安慰你，並以祂的喜樂充滿你。

Those Who Mourn

"Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

God wants us to experience His joy (John 15:11). Yet we cannot experience His joy until we have mourned over our sin. If we do not grieve over the weight of our sin, we have no concept of sin’s devastating power. If we treat our sin lightly, we demonstrate that we have no sense of the enormity of our offense against almighty God. Our sin caused the death of God’s Son. It causes us to fall short of what God intends (Rom. 3:23). It brings pain and sorrow to others, as well as to ourselves.

The Bible says that those who grieve over their sin will draw near to God (James 4:8–10). Those who mourn and weep over their sin are in a position to repent (Luke 4:18–19). There cannot be repentance without the realization of the gravity of sin. Regret for sin’s consequences is not the same as sorrow for sinning against holy God. Confession of sin is not necessarily an indication of repentance. Repentance comes only when we acknowledge that our transgression has come from a heart that is far from God, and we are brokenhearted over our grievous offenses against holy God.

Jesus said that those who are heartbroken over their sin will find comfort. They will experience new dimensions of God’s love and forgiveness. His infinite grace is sufficient for the most terrible sin. Do not try and skip the grieving process of repentance in order to move on to experience joy. God will not leave you to weep over your sin but will forgive you, comfort you, and fill you with His joy.