Within the kingdom of priests that is the church, every Christian is a mirror of grace. We each are the very image of God mediating Christ: first to one another, then to the rest of the world. In today’s passage, this enormous and foundational grace is contextualized within functional limits: each of us can live according to our individually assigned faith.

But what is the meaning of this assigned faith? Whatever it is, unless we experience it in the light of true faith and true humility, we will be tempted to jealousy.

As we grow in the worship of God with our whole selves, we realize that God transforms each of us in a unique way. God magnifies us in Christ, and the very transformation of our character is the result, much like the physical transformation of a caterpillar in a chrysalis. And—just as every butterfly knows—transformation is challenging. We have to adjust. We must learn to live with our wings.

Apart from faith, the wings of our uniqueness tempt us to become proud of our own wings and say, “I’m glad I’m me and not you!” or to become jealous of others’ wings and say, “I wish I were you instead of me.”

But each person’s giftedness is a unique grace. Since we are one body with many parts, not individual Christians competing for glory, we are free to cooperate in our uniqueness. So Paul’s call to “sober judgment” is answered in us only as we realize that we are a kingdom of priests for one another.