There have been many times when I've struggled to figure out what bearing many Old Testament passages have on my life today, in a radically different cultural setting. Israel was born into a nation of many gods, and called to a radical monotheism. Christians in most of the western world today are born into a culture that is largely devoid of a real concept of God. Alan Hirsch, however, points out in his book Forgotten Ways that perhaps this difference is less than we might think. Early Christians, Hirsch writes, proclaimed that Jesus is Lord not only for the sheer truthfulness of the statement, but also in opposition to the desire of the current government to have "lordship" over their lives.

Today, we are not faced with a broad pantheon of actual gods being worshiped, nor are we faced with a singular dominating political power which desires absolute allegiance. But we are faced with a formidable opponent in the pluralism which dominates much of intellectual surroundings. Setting aside the positive elements of pluralism which allow for increased opportunities for dialogue, as Christians we must recognize that our only allegiance must be to Christ. Though perhaps we are not so likely to suddenly become Buddhist-Christian hybrid quasi-religious ascetics, there is still danger present: danger to subtly accept more and more of other religions until our desire to spread the Gospel is seriously diminished. A lack of commitment to the commission of making disciples can easily be connected to a lack of commitment to the bold statement, "The Lord our God is one." In the present buffet style favorite-flavor-of-religion, we must be constantly meditating on the supremacy of Christ and his dominance in our own lives.