Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Hear O Israel: The LORD [is] our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

The Shema (the passage/prayer found above) was the defining confession of the Jewish people. It was the core belief that set Judaism apart from all other religious philosophies of its day. It reminded the descendents of Abraham that of all the peoples of the world they were God’s precious and chosen ones and that in a world of competing loyalties, there was only one true God. It was so foundational that observant Jew would recite it twice a a day and children would use it as a bedtime prayer. 

The ancient Jews lived in a world of polytheism. All of the surrounding nations believed that there were multiple gods that needed to be appeased and served. Want a successful crop? You had better pay your dues to the rain and sun gods. If you wanted to take a trip, you might want to bring along a sacrifice or two for the river and woods gods in case there were some shrines along the way. Want success in family, employment or politics? There were gods for each with their own set of requirements. In fact, there were gods for every possible sphere of life and activity. 

Into this complex matrix of religious performance dropped this theological bombshell: There is only One God and he rules over every aspect of life. This simple truth blazed across millennia of superstition to provide hope to people beat down by the demands of many petty deities. Israel was a beacon of light in a very dark world. The very existence of the nation declared: The LORD is our God and He is One. 

Life as a polytheist was tough. You never knew which god had the upper hand and sometimes their demands conflicted. The simple truth that there was only one God provided immense freedom and clarity. There is really only one God and as the child of his love I respond by loving him with all my heart soul and strength. As I do, every aspect of my life is brought under his gracious lordship. 

Today, we as Christians think we have this down pat. But the strange truth is many believers live their lives as functional polytheists. While we would never say that there is more than one God, in reality, we live our lives as if there were. We have competing loyalties and we compartmentalize our life into sacred and secular; the God of Sunday is not the god of our Monday through Friday. The God of our church and devotional reading is not the god of our office cubicle, our entertainment choices or our financial dealings. And just like the polytheists of old, we experience spiritual dis-integration. It’s really tough to serve more than one master. 

This week remind yourself that there is but One God and live in his love 24/7. There is freedom and joy in simply living full-out for the One who chose you to be his precious child.