Our Peace - Our Shalom

                                                                               

Week Twelve

Our Peace-Our Shalom

The Hebrew word Shalom means peace, wholeness, completeness. That is what Jesus Christ brought to the world. 

When Jesus died and reconciled the world to God through his blood, all people in the world were now eligible to become sons and daughters of God. To be able to have a relationship with the God of the universe, to be able to speak to God and fellowship with him as he intended from the beginning. 

Jesus paid the price for the sins of the whole world, he bridged the gap for not only the Jewish people, who had been the chosen people but also for the gentile world. All people were now considered chosen by God because of Christ. He is our peace.

How does that affect us today? What does this peace, this wholeness mean to us?

Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:34-39.

Our peace in Christ is not a peace that the world understands. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Ephesians 2:14-16

The world today tries to achieve peace by being politically correct, never stepping on anyone’s toes, not sharing the truth that Christ is the only way to the Father. We want to hope that there are other routes to reach God, but that would mean that Jesus died for nothing. 

The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world, no one was excluded. But Christ said that to find that life that he died to give us, we must put him first in our lives. He is the one who should sit on the thrones of our hearts. He is our peace, he is the one who brings wholeness to our lives. No one else offers what he offers, no one else paid the price that he paid. 

Without Jesus in our hearts, we are still separated from God. Even though the way was made for us to come to God, we have to acknowledge and accept that way. We have to accept the gift that God has given us.

Proverbs 14:30 states, “a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 17: 1 tells us, “better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22. 

All of these passages show us what happens without peace, they speak of peace giving life, being better than living in strife, they show us that wicked people do not experience this peace.

Once again we see this reconciliation in Colossians 1:19-20, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” This wholeness, completeness, this peace comes from God himself. He wants us to belong to him, to serve him, to be at peace with him. 

Oftentimes this means that we will be at odds with the world. Those family members who do not understand your love for Christ and all that he has done for you, may ridicule you, they may make fun of you and be angry with you. There may very well be anything but peace in your home because of your love for Christ Jesus. But don’t despair. 

1 Peter 3:8-12 tell us, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 

If we keep believing and continue to be steadfast in our faith, God will hear our prayers for family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, anyone who may not know or accept what Christ did for them. God will give us opportunities to share our faith and his word tells us that his ears are attentive to our prayers. 

That is pretty amazing. That is our peace, our shalom, our wholeness. God wants that wholeness even more than we do and he will stop at nothing to answer our prayers. 

Our completeness is exactly what will bring loved ones into the kingdom of God. We are complete, whole and at peace with God, our creator and the creator of all living things. That wholeness gives us legitimate rights. The enemy tries to tell us otherwise, but the word of God tells us that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and that God will answer. 

As children of the living God we have his Spirit within us and that Spirit will direct our prayers according to what God wants. His word also tells us that he doesn’t want to lose anyone, but wants everyone to be saved. The blood of Christ was sufficient for the sins of the entire world, he didn’t leave anyone out. The most evil person in the world is capable of becoming a new creature in Christ. That is where we come in. God has given us dominion over the earth and he is waiting for us to ask him to meet our needs. It is up to us, as believers, to ask God to meet our fellow earth travelers right where they are. We have to want them to have peace, wholeness and to be complete.

God is waiting for us to bring others into the kingdom. Jesus blood was the sacrifice that brought about the shalom, the completness, but it is through his disciples that other disciples are birthed. How badly do we want to share the peace that we have with others?

Heavenly Father,

We give you praise for being such a God of wholeness that you would want the world to be reconciled to yourself. Thank you for providing a way through the blood of Jesus Christ. We ask that you use each one of us, to reach those around us, who do not fully understand what you have done to bring us peace. Give us boldness to speak when your Spirit prompts us, and open doors of opportunity to share our faith with those who need to know of your love. We ask these things because of Christ. Amen.