The One and Only

Plenty of folks like to hold up John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world …”) on signs at sporting events. If there were to be an equivalent Old Testament placard, it would have to be the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4–5. Jesus himself called it the greatest commandment of the law: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord 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 word “Shema” is derived from the Hebrew word for hear or listen, which happens to be the very first word of verse 4. Without verse 4, there is no Shema. What difference does that make?

When we begin with verse 5, we start with an emphasis on what we are supposed to do. Yes, we are to love God, but God actually intends us to begin in a different place. He wants us to think—first and always—not about what we must do, but about who he is. Because love is deeper than sentiment, knowing who we love helps us to know how to love.

Who God Is

What we learn in the Shema about God seems pretty obvious. “Listen up everybody, God is one.” Well, to Christians this isn’t really earth-shattering news, is it? What we have here is a basic theology lesson clearly seen throughout the Bible: God is one; when we worship him, we are worshiping one God rather than multiple gods. This felt more to me like information rather than inspiration. 

But my opinion recently changed.

I reread the Shema in The Message paraphrase by the late Eugene Peterson. As I did, verse 4 jumped out in a particularly fresh way. Here is how he interpreted it: “Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only!”

“Grounding our lives in God’s uniqueness is the secret to joy.” 

There is no longing of our lives, no pursuit of our hearts, that could ever fulfill us like our one and only God. Why are we to love him? Not only because of the theological statement of fact that God is one. Yes, he is one. But more fundamentally, we are to love God because of who God is. It’s not only a statement of quantity, but of quality. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is spectacularly singular, gorgeously unique and utterly unparalleled. 

Unshakeable Fulfillment

This emphasis also makes sense when we consider that the Shema comprises some of Moses’ final words to the Israelites. The people were about to enter the Promised Land, but before they were to go in, Moses clearly explains that the secret to their joy is God himself. He warns that they will not find their ultimate fulfillment in any competing idol, nor will they even find it in the bounty of the Promised Land itself. Unshakeable fulfillment can only come through the one and only God. This lesson applies to us today.

Yes, the Shema teaches that God is one. But most importantly, it teaches that God is the one and only. Now, when I think about the Shema, I think about this singular truth: Grounding our lives in God’s uniqueness is the secret to joy. 

Read more from Michelle Sanchez »

Michelle Sanchez
Michelle Sanchezhttps://michelletsanchez.com/

Michelle T. Sanchez has served in various discipleship and evangelism leadership roles for more than a decade, most recently as executive minister of make and deepen disciples for the Evangelical Covenant Church. She’s the author of Color-Courageous Discipleship (WaterBrook).

Fit for the Kingdom

The Lord prompted Reardon to think about combining Christian fellowship with fitness in order to create a new small group for men.

4 Reminders for Discouraged Parents

Parenting can be hard, so let these truths encourage you.

Lessons From the Early Church

The early church can show us that through patience and careful cultural discernment, we can navigate the torrents of modern culture.