Shema Life as “Our"
“Listen, Israel: The LORD is our God…” (Deuteronomy 6:4, NET)
When Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father,” He was teaching us that when we pray, we do so with others in mind.
The Shema, spoken by Moses, addresses a new generation of Israelites as an entire covenant community of God’s chosen people who are on the threshold of entering the long-awaited Promised Land. At the outset, Moses accentuates and introduces life with God to be one of a gathered people, that is, a community…a family. This is not an anomaly! On the contrary, it will be the consistent testimony and way evidenced throughout the sharing of God’s story in the Scripture. Whether it is Israel in the Old Testament or the church of the New Testament, the heart desire and purpose of God is a group of people, a corporate community of believers and a spiritual family of faith-followers.
Honestly, ask and answer yourself, is your life as a disciple of Christ being lived in harmony with God’s heart desire? Is your Christian life one of interdependence with and among the life of other disciples? Or are isolation and independence the primary descriptors of your life as a Christian?
As one keeps reading in Deuteronomy 6, the covenant community Moses speaks to becomes even more narrow… “you must teach them to your children…” (Deuteronomy 6:7) Now the “our God” is not only relevant to the large context of a nation but also pertinent to the small-group dynamic…family.
Let us remember…this other-centeredness lifestyle was supremely modeled through the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, who first, not only lived His life in the flesh within the context of family—earthly father, mother, siblings--but also in relationship as the Son to His Heavenly Father. Both of these family orientations establish a foundation for you and me to receive and live well with the “our” mentality in the daily life of family and spiritual family (church).
Jesus’ Model Prayer in Matthew 6, begins with “Our Father…” Jesus, teaching His first disciples as well as disciples today, was giving us the proper corporate mindset and lifestyle when we take to time to speak with God. Though prayer may be voiced by one person it is done with a heart that has others, yes, family members in mind. Even a time of personal prayer is not a private matter…it is a spiritual family matter…a family matter!
Shema Parenting embraces this biblical truth of “our.”
Today, many families live with a family member in isolation or as a family, living their privately as they live under one roof. Dads and Moms choose to let the Lord use you as a pacesetter of life together and family unity and interdependence. Provide for your children the experience “our God” and “our Father.” Pray with them in mind! Pray and read Scripture together! Make the together step of church gathering to become an extension into spiritual family with other kindred families seeking to hear, love, and follow Jesus. Shema Parenting will be a solid encouragement of experiencing the LORD our God with one another!
