“Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to him: ‘All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me.’ Then Jesus saith to him: ‘Begone, Satan, for it is written, ‘The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve.’’ Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him.”
The devil then showed Jesus the temporal kingdoms endowed with gold, and the kingdom of the devil, which are lust, avarice, and the like, with all that it contains. Jesus looked on these things in the same way a physician sees disease, with a compassionate eye geared towards healing. O worthless gifts of the devil, be they comforts, pleasures, riches, honor, power, none of these are comparable to the gift of love: “Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46), for all other gifts are but chaff before the glorious gift of love, something that the devil cannot give. Seeing how pathetic this gift is, “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36), Jesus promptly dismisses his adversary: “The devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone” (Apocalypse 20:9). Christ sees your temptations and adversities, the snares and traps the devil has laid out for you, and will allow you to bear them for a time while He looks on you with compassion, using the enemy as a tool to carve you into the most splendorous version of yourself like an artist with marble. When He sees you at your limit, or the work completed, He will stand with might against the serpent: “The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector” (Psalm 45:8). He knows how weak you are, and will not permit the tormentor to hound you beyond your capacity: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able” (1 Corinthians 10:13). This also serves as a humiliation for the enemy, who cannot bring you into his kingdom, because of the love that has been planted in your heart: “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock” (Matthew 7:25). The angels then come and minister to Him, which brings Him honor, but also shows that when temptations cease for a time, and love emerges victorious yet again, angels will come, offering insight, warmth, inspirations to heavenly things, and a realization of how loved you are. Therefore, endure through the fight: “Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war” (Psalm 143:1), knowing that love is always present; always believe in love, for Jesus gives it to you in abundance, even when you cannot feel it. No gift that can be offered you surpasses the infinite love of God, and when you need reminders of this magnificent love, it will be given you, for it is human nature to forget and need anew, and God in His justice knows this. Therefore, He will always bring you back to the fountain, that you may drink of His love and fight anew: “Thus saith the Lord that made and formed thee, thy helper from the womb: Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and thou most righteous whom I have chosen. For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land” (Isaias 44:2-3).