Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4
The Lord works through human instrumentalities and has commissioned to His followers the duty of ministering to those who are desponding and distressed. There are hearts all around us that need to be uplifted, that need the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The Lord looks to those whom He has comforted and blessed to enlighten those who are in darkness and to relieve those who are in sorrow. Those who have received light and peace and joy are not to pass by those who mourn, but are to come close to them in human sympathy and help them to see a sin-pardoning Savior, a merciful God.
Christ has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and He will give joy and gladness to those who mourn. Will you, my brother and sister who have felt the sorrows of earth, do service for Christ in helping the very ones who need your help? …
Those who love Jesus will have the mind of Christ and will comfort all who mourn; those who are poor, tempted, and discouraged they will help to walk in the light of the cross and not in the shadows and in the darkness….
The Lord Jesus has given to His people the special work of comforting all that mourn. Christ is working for this class, and He calls upon human beings to become His instrumentalities in bringing light and hope to those who are mourning in the midst of apparently dark providences….
The furnace fire may kindle upon the servants of God, but it is for the purpose of purifying them from all dross, and not that they may be destroyed and consumed….
We honor God by trusting in Him when all looks dark and forbidding. Let those who are afflicted look unto Him, and talk of His power, and sing of His mercy….
There is a blessing pronounced upon all who mourn. Had there been no mourners in our world, Christ could not have revealed the parental character of God. Those oppressed by the conviction of sin are to know the blessedness of forgiveness and to have their transgressions blotted out. Had there been none who mourn, the sufficiency of Christ’s expiation for sin would not have been understood.—Signs of the Times, August 8, 1895.