From the Least to the Most

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. (Ephesians 4:1-7 ESV). The English language has many ways to express superlatives. Technically, we would define the comparative superlative as an adjective which compares three or more nouns. This takes the comparison of nouns to the highest degree. An example would be: “My team is the best.” With the end of March Madness we have one college basketball team emerge as the “best.” At least at the time the final game was played Villanova was the best of all the teams in the nation, albeit that decision didn’t finalize until the last half second of the game! They beat North Carolina and were declared the best. Have you noticed how often we compare people as well as things? Sometimes the outcome is based on performance, while other times it is based on other comparatives. These can be age, experience, training, achievements, or any one of many more measurable factors. In regard to this we often assign more importance, authority, and power to adults, particularly those who take on significant leadership responsibilities. However, God’s kingdom simply does not rank people that way. Even, and sometimes especially, those who appear to have no power by the world’s measurements have a crucial role to play in the story God is continuing to weave throughout history. For example, in Christian traditions where we see the practice of baptism after a profession of faith in Christ, this establishes an identity that can emphasize a critical change affecting the rest of life. It emphasizes that baptism is received as a gift, that it isn’t something we achieve on our own. Whether you received that gift as a child or whether you experienced it later in life, your baptismal identity as a Christian, united to Christ in his death and resurrection, is the foundational identity that breathes life into all the other identities and roles you may take on. In this common identity we are equally valuable members of Christ’s body, no matter how many years we’ve lived. Truly, God’s spirit blows where it wishes (cf. John 3:8) and is poured out upon young and old alike (cf. Joel 2:28). What a mystery to behold, that the teenager is equally essential to the kingdom of God as the wisest or most accomplished adult. I like that kind of comparative!