I look out over the emerging city centre for Al Reem Island, designer carvings in the sand that will soon become concrete and steel structures. The transformation seems like chaos at first. As time passed, the early signs of the designer’s intent became more visible. As I think of other transformations and the results of the designer’s vision, I think of the interior of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Word pairs come to mind; monumental and detailed, bold and subtle, dominant and inviting. The designer had a vision.
Individuals reflect unique and bold designs. Our designer had a vision. One writer notes the designer’s engagement; “After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.” (Romans 8.30). We are individual monuments reflecting Divinity’s vision for her child.
Our actions take an edifice design and fill it with purpose. Divinity creates the possibility for love, kindness, and care. In our freedom, we decide how this reveals itself to others in our community. We can be the instrument that reveals the designer’s expressions of compassion, acceptance, and belonging. We have the form and the functions by design. What happens with these is determined by how we exercise our freedom.
When design and heart come together, you can feel and experience the results. As I stood in the silence of the Mosque’s grand hall, I found myself in awe and reverence. I found the best of humanity represented in the care and thought expressed by the designers and creators of the mosque. I could feel the positive intent. It was an invitation to experience Divinity at her best.
Designs are wasted until used. It is in the heat of the day, the arena of our lives, that one embraces and fulfils one’s full potential. More than an opportunity, it is a calling to live.
