שׁלום

Shalom- completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

We frequently find the word peace in scripture, and it often represents the Hebrew word shalom. In today's vocabulary, peace is used to communicate the absence of conflict or fighting. The word brings to mind wars and treaties, hostile or violent groups, or the absence of bloodshed. In the Hebrew scriptures, shalom certainly incorporates all these ideas but also so much more.

The root of shalom means “wholeness” or “completeness.” Shalom can apply to relationships between people or groups of people, a person’s physical and mental health, or the soundness of an object or institution.

Underlying all these themes is the idea that everything in creation has function and purpose. All things, especially people, have an ideal state from which they can perform the jobs for which they were created.

A wall has lost its shalom once cracks have appeared, and it cannot protect the city it surrounds. A flock of sheep has lost shalom when one of the sheep has gone missing. A family has lost shalom when one of the children suddenly passed away in an accident and the parents blame each other.

When we are lacking shalom, we are compromised versions of who God has created us to be. All of our efforts become limited, like a racehorse handicapped by a weighted suit.

What ultimately disrupts the shalom of God’s creation is sin. Sin is chaos and distortion and human rebellion wrapped into one. It places the self above others, making each person’s desires the throneroom of all creation and leaving disaster in its wake. Sin leads to the decay of bodies, souls, relationships, families, governments, and every intersection of human life with the physical and spiritual realms. In its essence, sin is the very antithesis of shalom.

The story of Scripture is of God’s working to restore his fallen creation and its human caretakers to a state of shalom. In Genesis 3-11 we see humanity spiral out of control as a result of its sin. Bloodshed, war, and slavery all reign supreme, and “every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts [is] only evil continually.” (Genesis 6)

But rather than leave humanity in its fallen state, God sets out to rescue it from its self-inflicted demise. He chooses a man named Abraham and promises that through him and his descendants, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” just as humanity had been in Eden.

Ultimately, this promise culminated in the person of Jesus Christ, having been foretold through the prophet Isaiah as the coming “Prince of Peace” who would usher the world into “endless peace” and return each fractured human soul to wholeness in every way imaginable.

From Jesus’s own mouth, he proclaimed: “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33)

Questions to consider:

What areas of my life are lacking shalom?

How can I begin to invite God to cultivate shalom in these areas of my life?

How can I be an instrument of shalom, healing, and restoration for those around me?