Adversary of the Worse Kind

I heard a sermon that sent chills up my spine.

Luke 12:49-59 (New International Version)

Not Peace but Division
49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Interpreting the Times
54He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. 55And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. 56Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?
57"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? 58As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[a]"

The pastor spent quite some time talking about what an adversary is. Definition: 1. a person or group that is hostile to someone; enemy. An adversary has no good intentions for the enemy. Have you ever had adversaries in your life? I am sure we all have.

I can think of recent times when our adversary was one we reached out to in love and that love was considered vile.

Then the sermon took a shocking twist:

The worse and most fearful adversary one can have is God! To an unbeliever, God IS their adversary, they are either for Him or against Him. He is just, righteous, and holy. It always amazes me how people who reject the God of the gospel also declare that He only "loves" people and isn't "judgemental". Enemies of God think highly of themselves, not taking into account that every breath they have is from Him. Each man will meet God in the end - either in embracing love or the most horrible eternal punishment imaginable.

Yes, for an unbeliever God is the worse adversary conceivable. As a believer, I can only humbly shake my head in utter gratitude that He would love me - even me!