None Nearer to God In This Life Than Haters and Blasphemers

And I will say one thing more in my free and bold way. There are none nearer to God in this life than these haters and blasphemers of him, nor any sons more pleasing to him and beloved by him! And you can in this state make more satisfaction for sin in one moment than ever you could by repenting for many years together under a diet of bread and water. Hence it is true that in death (where this temptation prevails most), a Christian may in one moment get rid of all his sins, if he but act wisely under temptation. Here it is that those “groanings that cannot be uttered” are at work and prevail [Rom. 8:26]. (WA 5.170.25-5.171.3)

Remarkable passage! It makes no sense at all to the theologian of glory, but if we think of Job, for instance, it begins to make more sense. Like Job, the “blasphemer” at least does God the honor of acknowledging God as God. In extremity the sufferer is finally provoked enough, perhaps ultimately in death, to send complaint to the right address. Perhaps we can imagine God saying, “Ah, at last! I got you to talk to me! You spoke the truth about me in spite of yourself!”… In pious restraint the theologian of glory will refrain from such “blasphemy” and flatter God by absolving Him from all blame. But such pious speech simply robs God of the right to be God. So Luther could say that there are none closer to God in this life than “blasphemers,” who at least do God the honor of letting Him be God!
 - Gerhard O. Forde, On Being a Theologian of the Cross (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 91.