Celebration Despite Contention

“Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.

Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.” [1]

“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles [non-Jews] the unsearchable riches of Christ.” [2]

The Prophet Jeremiah lamented that he was in a place where his love for God and for God’s Word yielded for him strife, contention, curses and rebuke, but nevertheless, he could say to God, “Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” He was glad to be called by God’s Name.

The Apostle Paul marveled that he who was so small in his own eyes, was given grace by God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ among non-Jews.

The grace of God that calls a man or woman to love Him and His Word is a marvelous gift. There are riches beyond compare in Christ our Savior. Our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, abundantly fills our cup until overflowing with revelations of Himself that make up the difference when we encounter contention.

[1] Jeremiah 17:10, 15-16
[2] Ephesians 3:8