What Shalom Means to Me

“Look! God and his children are together again. No more running away. Or hiding. No more crying or being lonely or afraid. No more being sick or dying. Because all of those things are gone. Yes, they’re gone forever. Everything sad has come untrue. And see – I have wiped away every tear from every eye!” (Jesus Storybook Bible).

What a beautiful picture of God’s promise of shalom to a creation that knows too well about suffering, brokenness, and hopelessness – all that is sad has come untrue. Scripture is riddled with stories that point back to God’s agenda to restore all broken things in the world. Unlike the remedies the world promises in the midst of chaos, shalom is a sure promise that is never fleeting.

As we imitate the life of Jesus, we are invited to heal, and to move towards shalom for all creation with Christ. Restorative work, on a personal and systemic level is tiring and at times disheartening, but Christ offers us his grace, compassion, and restoration so that we may be co-laborers with him. Throughout the gospels Jesus demonstrates so beautifully how we can move towards shalom. In his life and storytelling, Jesus highlights seeing people or systems in their shame and pain; then he is moved to compassion and heals, restores, and reconciles; then he commissions individuals to go and do likewise. In order to sustain my commitment and efforts towards shalom, it’s important to me that I receive the shalom that is available to me, so that I may practice extending shalom in the relationships and spaces that I find myself in.

By my own efforts, I get stuck at seeing and naming brokenness and disorder. Seeking out the movements I see towards wholeness, peace, and restoration in my community is a commitment to awareness of God, self, and others. Because I choose to live a life where my faith informs the way I navigate justice, I’m deeply disturbed by the injustice that tends to linger in our society. I hold on to shalom because it is what continues to anchor me in my faith and move me, sometimes very slowly, towards justice.

I deeply long for this promise of full restoration, “for everything sad” to become “untrue” especially when I’m confronted by the patterns of brokenness and darkness that become overwhelming and redundant in our society. The kind of shalom I long for is not possible without the disruption of systems or ways of thinking that perpetuate injustice. My longing for shalom mobilizes me to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In order to seek justice, we must enter into uncomfortable spaces to disrupt injustice and create more space for shalom to dwell among us.  

What role(s) do you play in bringing shalom into the world?

What movements towards shalom do you see happening in your community? In your city? In our nation?

What needs to get disrupted and flipped in order to make more space for shalom?