The true understanding of what is real is found in Deuteronomy 6: 4. Moses under the inspiration of God says, “Hear O Israel; The LORD your God is one LORD” This concept of Hear O Israel; The LORD your God is one LORD will truly change you if you will take the time to meditate on what God is trying to tell you.

God is oneWhat does that mean? First of all, we should look at the context where this verse is found. In verses 1-3, Moses directs the Israelites to be obedient to the law that was given to them on Mount Sinai. In verse 5, it says, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Can we grasp this concept: “God is one”? This is not a word to describe rank or position. This is a word to describe quantity. God is not telling us what place He wants to have in our hearts – He is revealing how much room there is. Not only is this true for our hearts, but in all of His wondrous creation there is only ONE GOD. There is not room for anything else. And so it should be in our lives. The LORD our God is one LORD. There is nothing else: no room for self, no room for the flesh. There is only God.Everywhere I hear Christians and unbelievers alike saying the same thing, “I want to do this…” or “I want to have that…” This is because the one lord in their hearts is Self and not the God of Deuteronomy 6:4. God is one LORD – There is nothing else! Even those Christians, who sincerely want to serve Him, but say they want God’s will in their lives are making a mistake, because it is about the Christian and not God. Remember, it’s not your life. There is only room for one LORD. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” How sad it is that there are lost souls who will spend an eternity in hell, because they could not let go of their wills to follow God. How sad it is that Christians will never be truly filled with the Spirit because they are following their own will. We see an example of this kind of rebellion in Adam and Eve.God placed Adam in the garden to be a Son of God. In the beginning Adam and Eve’s lives and relationship with Him were correct. There was only God. They weren’t worried about bills, or social obligations. They weren’t thinking about things they wanted to obtain or goals that they wanted to reach for themselves. No, there was only one thing in their lives – God. Then they had that terrible thought whispered to Eve by the serpent… “and ye shall be as gods”. Once they wanted to put themselves in God’s rightful place in their lives – they fell. And nothing has been right since! You see, we cannot fill His place. When we try like Adam and Eve did– it ends in sin and despair.

Behold the example of the Messiah. Everything in the life that Christ lived on earth was God. It was not about Himself – He, Who was God in the flesh, never glorified Himself. His earthly life was to glorify God and to do the Father’s will. “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?” John 7:16-19. Jesus, our perfect example, did not live for Himself. There was only God. Jesus did not concern Himself with His own wants and desires. All that He thought about and lived for was serving God. Remember how John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)? Consider how far the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, instructs us to follow John’s example, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3) Our lives should be dead – there is only God. Sometimes it’s hard for the human brain to grasp this concept, but just as Moses tried to explain it to Israel, God is telling us today:The LORD your God is one LORD.There is nothing else!Merton Bobo