What the Shema implies in relation to Identity:

Also thinking today about how the Shema relates to our identities or becoming more whole or integrated. Healing is lodged in understanding the Shema—God is One, therefore wants to make us more one integrated new creation.

The Oneness of God implies moving towards wholeness in our own identities as well. We see that He is One, and therefore wants to make us more one, as we relate to Him in love. As St Augustine said, “Love God and do what you will.” That is to say it is less about the medium, and more about meeting God through your situation.

This is also Paul’s secret of spiritual contentment. We are not our circumstances, they are, instead, mediums through which to encounter the Living God, and be transformed by that ongoing encountering….this is why Paul was content in prison or eating a feast. They were both just places of meeting his God. Whether in sickness health poverty or wealth, season of life etc…

We discover our true identities by staring at His.

We find ourselves by losing ourselves..we gain our names, by seeking to know God’s Name! God is One, and wants to make us one or whole.

My other favorite quote this week: “My heart is broken in two, but God is One. The Shema implies not just God’s integration, but potentially and eventually our own, as we offer our hearts, and naming of ourselves, into His. We become more one, more our true or integrated selves, by staring and encountering His Oneness. Like Peter, we see His True identity, and get our true names. We find ourselves, by losing our self definitions into His naming of us.” Nice