“’Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.’”
Blessed are the little, the small, those that do not resist or react to wrongs done to them, but by love overcome evil, chaos and hatred. Blessed are those that are built on rock, that “drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own well” (Proverbs 5:15), that is, drink from the fountain of love that is within your own heart, put there by the Holy Spirit. You are truly blessed when you are so rooted in love that nothing brings you to anger, because you see God’s love in every circumstance. Those that do wrong to you without justice are pained in spirit, those that sin against you “know not how to distinguish between their right hand and their left” (Jonas 4:11), that is, right from wrong. Being able to see this and love someone through their actions is the manifestation of a compassionate heart: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). You can love at any time, in any circumstance, and it is the saint that loves when they receive no love, even hatred, in return. It is a strong mind that can be patient, holding back the impulse to anger or a strong reaction, and a strong heart that loves in the face of adversity. These will inherit both a heavenly homeland, and charge over the garden of their souls. Thus, to “prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house” (Proverbs 24:27) can mean to cultivate the interior land with holy reading and practice of the commandments, that a strong house and a beautiful garden may emerge: “The beams of our house are of cedar, our rafters of cypress trees” (Song 1:16). Not being given to impulses, anger, the need for praise, being forward, all of which are signs of pride, shows that you have possession over your soul, and you can steer it instead to divine love. How great is the inheritance of the little! For the one who seemingly lacks in talent but is rich in love is one that receives all their goodness from the Lord: “there is an inactive man that wanteth help, is very weak in ability, and full of poverty: Yet the eye of God hath looked upon him for good, and hath lifted him up from his low estate, and hath exalted his head: and many have wondered at him, and have glorified God” (Ecclesiasticus 11:12-13). It is not your talents, your learning, your grand qualities that draw the Lord near to you, but your pitifulness and inability to do good on your own that Jesus has compassion on you and runs to your aid: “The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth. Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people: But because the Lord hath loved you” (Deuteronomy 7:6-7). Realizing your littleness and loving that about yourself opens yourself to inheriting a land of milk and honey. It is to know you will be cared for and to have life sweetened by love: “Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God, and contain thyself: gather up thy heart in his holiness: and drive away sadness far from thee” (Ecclesiasticus 30:24). Truly, it is a blessing to realize how little good you can do on your own, while also realizing how unfathomably loved you are, for these are the two necessary sides to the coin of humility. Then the world becomes yours, because you are not focused on yourself but on God, who gives back abundantly and fills your heart with good things: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 23:1), and He gives it to you that all things may remind you of His love: “Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine” (Luke 15:31). O reckless love, that gives abundantly to the great depths of neediness, to take those that have sinned against You and fill them to the brim with love and tenderness! O love of the Father, that draws you back time and time again to His bosom, letting you fall just so you could experience yet again His endless merciful love, and when you are little and confident enough to receive it with open hands, you can say with all your heart: “The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment: he hath converted my soul” (Psalm 22:1-3).