God is Unique
GOD’S FIRST COMMANDMENT SHOWS HIS UNIQUENESS.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Exodus 19:16-20; 20:1-3.
Verse of the Day: “Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22).
“Dad, what does this word mean?” Ching was studying for the regional finals of the fourth-grade spelling bee. He showed his father a flash card he had made, bearing the word unique.
Ching’s dad removed his reading glasses and set down the newspaper he had been reading. “It means ‘one of a kind,’” Dad said. “One of a kind,” Ching echoed thoughtfully.
“Yes.” Dad thought for a moment, then said, “For example, bats are unique.” “Because they’re blind?” Ching asked.
“Good guess, but bats really aren’t blind. They have poor eyesight, but they can see,” Dad said. “No, bats are unique because they are the only kind of mammal that can fly. They’re unique among mammals.”
“I get it,” Ching said.
“Can you think of something else that’s unique?” Dad asked. Ching smiled proudly and blurted, “God!”
Dad looked surprised, then smiled back at his son. “Well, yes, I suppose you’re right. God is unique.” He paused. “In fact,” he said, “God is unique in a unique way.” “What do you mean?”
“Well, a painting can be unique, but there are many paintings. Every snowflake is unique, but there are many snowflakes. Every human being is unique, but there are many other humans. Those things are all unique within their classes, within their own category.”
“But there is only one God,” Ching said.
“Yes, there is nothing—or no one else—in his class! He is his own category. There is no other God, no one who even comes close. That is why he tells us to worship no one but him. Because he is unique.”
“Unique,” Ching repeated. “U-N-I-Q-U-E! That’s one word I don’t think I’ll forget how to spell, now that I know what it means.”
TO DISCUSS: Take turns completing this statement: “God is unique because ________________________.” What word would you use to describe God?
TO PRAY: “God, there is no one else like you. You alone are God.”