Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:24).

As a sword divides asunder, so does the Word of God. As it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And God said, “Let there be light,” and He divided the light from the darkness. Jesus is that light spoken of—“the Word” who was with God and was God.

It is impossible in our present temporal state to fully know or understand the greatness of God. However, we can know things in part through the knowledge revealed to us.

Those who know God understand that His fullness is incomprehensible to the human mind, but they trust that He is good, all-knowing, and omnipotent. Therefore, by faith, He is embraced until the time comes that we shall know Him fully as He knows us.

Until all things are made known, we are to embrace God by faith that His word is true. Otherwise, we walk in darkness and have no relationship with Him. Whoever truly believes His word is true and embraces it will walk in the light.

Any goodness in us does not originate from us; every good thing comes from God. Without Him, there is no good thing. We are no more than beasts without His spirit. Moreover, we are worse than beasts; unlike a beast, we have a consciousness of good and evil and willfully choose sin; animals have no sin.

Therefore, there is a division between those who are the children of God and those who live in darkness. And the divider that separates them is this: love. As it is written, “Faith works by love.”

By faith, the believer embraces God because of the perceived goodness in Him. The inherent goodness in His promises makes them worth more than anything the world could ever offer.

To the contrary, those who choose to disbelieve God’s words do so to cast off restraints on selfishness to embrace the things of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These things are not of God but are of the world.

In their eyes, God is an obstacle to their desires. Regardless of the reason, choosing disbelief over faith in the LORD is the rejection of love, for love believes all the things of God.

Faith works through love. Disbelief works through selfishness; it is the opposite of love.

Those who love the world and the things of the world above God despise Him. The epitome of hate is rejecting the Word of God, for God is love. Regardless of how softly or ruthlessly unbelievers attempt to overthrow His order, the rejection of His word is a declaration of war on God.

Those who love God love him because he first loved them. When God hates the wicked, it is because they hated him first. When He sought to reach them in His love for them, they hated Him all the more. God says, “My spirit will not always strive with man.” He gives the wicked over to unrighteousness when their rejection becomes absolute.

There was no hatred before wickedness was conceived. There was nothing to hate. Yet, God was hated first for His infinite greatness, and iniquity was born. Even so, in the greatness of His mercy, He devised a means of forgiveness for those who were worthy of death.

God is love. The wrath of God was born out of His love when evil was conceived, and perfect love purposes to destroy evil. Nevertheless, the LORD is long-suffering and offers more grace in the hope of salvation until the appointed time of judgment. It is then that all evil will cease forever.

Jesus preached, “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you. For God is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” He commands us to do likewise and to be merciful as He is merciful.

The physical world we live in is corrupted and irredeemable; it is appointed for destruction. Even so, as Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, there are some who, by grace, will be saved from the fiery wrath to come. God will save a remnant through their embrace of his love. Many others are offered the same love; however, though many are called, few are chosen.

Jesus said he did not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. He came to divide and set at variance one against another. The same word that saves some is a two-edged sword that cuts others to pieces. As difficult as it may be for some to comprehend, God’s love is that He saves some and destroys others who reject His offer of salvation. God will not allow sin to defile eternity the way it has destroyed the world—wickedness comes with an expiration date.

Perfect love demands the destruction of all evil. Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Whatever a person sows, the same shall be reaped. Those who refuse to repent and turn from sin to walk in righteousness will reap destruction—but Christ offers life. This is the gospel Jesus preached. He is coming soon to separate the sheep from the goats and gather his people to Himself.