The Least of Us

Do we consider ourselves mighty men of a humble God,
Or do we see ourselves as humble men of a mighty God?
For whichever of these we choose, will testify before the world abroad
Whether our trust is built on man, or on the covenant Word of God.

For mighty men will always seek a faith they first can touch and see,
A faith of human proof, to measured strength and certainty;
Must a child first mature with wisdom shining clear and broad
Before he is numbered among the household of God?

Do we wait for signs, for a knowledge fully grown?
As though the Kingdom belonged to men who could stand on their own;
As though Christ Jesus calls to Him only those wise and iron-shod,
And not the weak, the frail, the poor, the trembling least who cling to God.

But humble men know better still the nature of the human frame,
They know that every soul conceived arrives in weakness all the same;
The old man and the infant child both stand alike beneath the rod,
And every saint who enters life must enter helpless before God.

Who among us came with strength sufficient for these things?
Who reasoned perfectly of grace before the Lord of lords and kings?
Who climbed by merit to the throne, or walked the narrow path untrod?
No—we were carried there by grace, as little children brought to God.

And this is why the waters here proclaim a glory strange and deep,
A mystery that causes proud and self-assured men still to weep;
For baptism does not magnify the strength of man before the crowd—
It magnifies the God who stoops to gather weak ones from the ground.

For what do we behold today within these little trembling hands?
Not power, not wisdom, not renown, not men who conquer distant lands;
We see dependence small and plain, cries and helplessness that cannot applaud—
And heaven smiles to see such things brought near unto the courts of God.

For Christ Himself once took such lambs and gathered them unto His breast,
While hardened men with lofty minds still struggled at His plain request;
The children came with empty hands while proud men questioned every word—
And still the kingdom, He said, belongs to these least who cling to God.

Baptism is no boast of man, no medal pinned on human chest,
No declaration that this child has now surpassed some holy test;
It is the covenant sign that says before the earth with one accord:
“These little ones belong not first unto themselves, but to the Lord.”

Baptism is not the outer sign of an inner transformation
It is not the speech of man’s subjective proclamation;
It is the covenant mark of God upon His chosen generation,
The visible word of grace applied before all earthly preparation.

It says that God remembers still the oath once sworn to Abraham,
That generations yet unborn remain secure within His plan;
That He who promised long ago beside the sands and stars abroad
Still walks among His people now and keeps His covenant as God.

And so we bring our children near not trusting flesh or human worth,
Not trusting passing intellect or greatness measured here on earth;
We bring them here by faith alone before the church with hearts still flawed,
Confessing all our hope remains within the mercy of our God.

For what do faithful parents see when darkness settles in the home?
They see small hearts inclined to sin, small feet too quick and far to roam;
They see impatience, tears, and pride already budding neath the sod—
And therefore all the more they cling unto the promises of God.

For baptism is a call as well—a call to labor, pray, and teach,
To bring the Word to little ears before the world can claim their speech;
To fill the home with songs of Christ, with Scripture’s light and gospel laud,
And raise these children day by day beneath the mighty reign of God.

It calls the father to stand firm with his Bible open, bent upon his knee,
To shepherd gently through the years with patient strength and constancy;
It calls the mother too to shape the soul with tenderness unflawed,
And show by quiet faithfulness the beauty of the grace of God.

And children raised beneath these signs must never treat them light or small,
For covenant mercies bring with them a holy summons unto all;
The waters cannot save the soul nor cleanse the conscience sin has scarred—
But they proclaim the Christ alone whose blood alone can cleanse the heart.

So children, do not flee from Him whose name has rested on you long,
Do not give ear unto the world with all its loud and passing song;
Remember you were taught to pray before you walked the earth abroad,
And called from infancy to trust the mighty mercies of our God.

And let the nations hear us now when to these waters we draw near:
We do not place our hope in man, nor bow to modern doubt and fear;
We do not trust the strength of will, the intellect, the iron facade—
We trust the Lord who gathers lambs and keeps them by His mighty hand.

For we are not great men at all who merely serve a lesser throne,
As though the kingdom rests at last on human strength and flesh alone;
No—we are weak and needy saints upheld by mercy, grace, and trust,
How then could we turn and look away from these the least of us?

For here the little children stand—a living parable before our eyes,
A portrait of the souls to whom belongs the Kingdom that arrives;
For just as they are carried near by faithful arms unto the Lord above,
So we are brought through helpless faith—the weak, the small, the least of us.

So let us never mock the small, nor slight the weak, nor shame the frail,
For God has built His Kingdom strong through broken jars and vessels pale;
And when at last we stand with Christ beneath the everlasting sun,
We too shall know we entered there as helpless children, every one.