Deuteronomy 6:4-9

In Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people: "The LORD our God is the only God. Love the LORD with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength."

This is the cornerstone of Jewish faith. There is but one God. The witness of the Hebrew scriptures is that this one God has called Israel into a special relationship through which the world is to be redeemed. Jews, therefore, are called to respond with love and obedience. Christians who read this passage may think that the doctrine of the Trinity has replaced the Jewish affirmation of one God, but this is not so. There is no Son without the Father, and there is no Spirit of God without God. God is one.

There is much, therefore, in this confession of one God that can unite our hearts with Jews and Muslims. We are all children of Abraham, all recognize the God of the Bible, all proclaim salvation through faith. Of course, there are significant differences between Jews, Christians and Muslims, but there are also significant differences among Jews, among Christians, and among Muslims. It is not a small thing that all three traditions affirm one God of the Bible and thus pray to the same God. (If there is but one God, then we all pray to this God.) Perhaps the test of faith is not whether we are Jewish, Christian or Muslim, but whether we love God with all our heart and soul and strength.

Grace and peace...Bob