Unique Unity

​Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. —1 Peter 4:10
 
Each one of us is unique. Our differences make us strong. None of us can do everything but each of us can do something. When we recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we marvel at the diversity of the divine image and likeness. Our collective diversity creates a unity of heart, mind, and soul in community. This is a mirror of divine majesty.
 
We can think about 1st Peter 4:10 which reminds us that we are stewards of the diverse, manifold, varied grace of God. Our different gifts are meant for us to serve and bless one another. When we do that, then we realize that the Spirit of God is transforming the pieces of our individual journeys into the interlocking jigsaw puzzle that is the reminder that we all are wonderfully made to fit into the beauty and wonder of the universe.
 
We reflect on who we are, and our individual journeys. Our journeys have been geographic, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual. Every aspect of our existence shows us that we are part of the divine diaspora. I think of my own life, and of years living in Canada, the USA, the UK, Israel, and now Trinidad and Tobago where I serve as the Principal of the oldest tertiary educational institution in the nation: St Andrew’s Theological College which is an ecumenical training center of The Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago. This Church began because of someone on a journey who inadvertently arrived in Trinidad and saw the need for mission. Many journeys later, our Church has 108 churches, 72 primary schools and 5 high schools in a multicultural, multireligious, multiethnic milieu.
 
Psalm 139 verses 13 to 16 assure us that there was a plan for us even before history had dawned. We can ponder deeply and think lovingly about where the living Lord has brought us and where our loving labour will make us and take us. Now, new times bring new opportunities and challenges. Psalm 139 verses 2 to 4 speak to us about how even our journeys are within divine discernment and direction. The diversity of our directions speaks to us of the Lord who dances on the fringes of our faith and who brings to us majesty from the margins of our experiences. 
 
The angelic response to the bewildering blessing of the Resurrection in Matthew 28 is that Christ is going before us and we should be on the move to see him. May we move as individuals. May we move as churches and communities. May we move to celebration of uniqueness and diversity. May we move to the sanctified happiness that transforms us from being individuals into the ongoing becoming of being the Body of Christ in the world, for the world, and with the world. 
 
Our travels enlighten us more about the world and about ourselves, and expand the frontiers of our wisdom as we grow in understanding of the awesome diversity that the divine is doing. Whoever we are, wherever we are, and whatever we can do, we can do it for God.
 
Let us embrace the mystery and join the unity of the journey for justice!
 
—Rev. Adrian D. E. Sieunarine, Principal, St. Andrew's Theological College