Shalom! Shalom!

A wife had provided a tombstone for her husband’s grave. On it she had inscribed two sentences: “Rest in Peace” … “Until We Meet Again.” Individually those are two good statements, but together they don’t come out quite right. That is the problem with our using the word “peace” in the limited sense that we do so often. We say “peace,” meaning the cessation of hostilities (until we meet again, perhaps).

In Scripture, the word for the Peace of Christ is “Shalom.” The Peace of Christ is not just the absence of discord. It is the presence of harmony and wholeness. This is what Jesus means when He comes into the midst of the disciples, saying, “Peace be with you.” Jesus is not just resolving the disharmony. He is bringing them the gift of wholeness of life. Deep down inside, we all want to be fully and completely the person God created us to be. We want Shalom!

When you think about this,…