His Excellency 👑
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." ~ John 17:20-21
Jamaica, undeniably has all the characteristics needed to stake its claim in the world as an enviable island paradise. 🏝☀
The climate, the beaches, the natural beauty of its landscapes, its food and of course, its people are all key ingredients that forge together to make us, as some put it, the jewel of the Caribbean.
This is an interesting nod to our motto and our very culture which says "Out of many, one people".
This speaks not only to the wonderful diversity of our flora and fauna, but to the very souls that merge to produce the singularity of our espoused culture and ideal of being one people.
This is a sweet and noble notion, one that, truth be told often rings more aspirational than actual. There are days and seasons when it even feels we may be moving further and further away from this ideal of being a united and unified people.
There are times in the life and history of our country when some truths and happenings are brought to life that leave us cut-up and confounded. As a nation, we often come face-to-face with the realities of atrocities perpetrated by the selfish and wicked heart of mankind and we find ourselves asking the question: "What will it really take for us to become one?"
This is especially precarious as we grapple with issues of vaccine inequities, differential treatment for the vaxxed versus the unvaxxed, the widening of the digital divide... not to mention the poverty divide.
The truth is that, without God, this is impossible.
While it may be elusive for mankind, God promises to quench that thirst and longing that stirs inside us by reconciling us to Himself.
God has made it clear to us that it is His desire for us all to be one. Not in a homogenized, boring, non-diverse kind of way, but for us to be yielded to one Faith, one Lord, one God while simultaneously celebrating the spice of life that the variety of our uniqueness brings.
In a majestic tropical delight such as Jamaica, it is easy to look around and see perfection in God's beautiful creation, as it all comes together to herald His sovereignty in one accord.
By contrast, it's also easy to see how mankind's evil stands out... that is whenever we hold true to our own selfish motives and self-interests.
There are many among us, maybe even closer than we realize, who are lost... spiritually lost and desperately searching. Their souls long to cling to a truth that promises peace with God and the harmony of Heaven and will grab to any semblance of something that promises this fulfilment.
As was the mission of Christ, so is our own mission, regardless of where in the world we find ourselves.: "To make Christ known" among the nations... so that those who are lost will find Christ and be found by Him. Even the vilest offender who truly believes.
It is then that those who long for His cleansing and for His peace will be able to find Him, to know Him as the Son of God, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace... and celebrate His Excellency.