Rejoice or mourn in a Godly manner

Rejoice always, pray unceasingly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:16-18

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

While on my prayer walk around green lake several mornings ago I was praying and rejoicing in the Lord and I first thought of the verse "Rejoice always", and others like it:

Phil 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always ... Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication ... let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

"This is the God's will for us", I thought, "to praise and worship our Creator - Jesus who gave us the gift of eternal life." Then I was reminded of Matt 5:4 and Matt 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

Now the study began. How does Jesus want us to put all these together? His will is to rejoice and to mourn. He is the Prince of Peace, and He came to bring a sword. What is Godly mourning when we are also commanded to rejoice always?

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your Heart and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. As is often the case this teaching can tie all of these emotions together. If you love someone you rejoice when they succeed, you mourn when they are hurt or fail. We can all relate to seeing a loved one suffer and having tears for them, or to be filled with joy when our child or friend or ourselves gets that job we have really wanted.

In Christ our success is when we trust in Him, first and foremost, when we call on His name and accept the gift of eternal life. All of our success on earth will be utterly lost in agony if we spend our eternity suffering in the lake of fire - separated from our Creator because of our own sin and pride for not admitting that we need Jesus Christ's free gift. "Jesus please forgive me". This can be cried out (mourned) or shouted out with joy (rejoice always).

You would be thought cruel or crazy or evil if you were rejoicing while witnessing a tragedy like a car crash that killed innocent bystanders. The christian that doesn't mourn for family and friends that haven't made that only eternally important step and yes for all people, is not loving God or others the way we are expected to and have been commanded to. Others are walking towards eternal suffering if they haven't called on the name of Jesus.

Acts 4:12 Only in Jesus is there salvation, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Rom 10:13 Whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.

Jesus please forgive all my sins and be my Lord! Amen.

And in closing, remember Matt 5:12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Jesus loves you.