Shalom

Ed Welch believes that "Everyone knows at least one Hebrew word, the word shalom. Like the Hawaiian word aloha, you hear it in greetings, partings, and blessings. It is usually translated as peace, but it means much more. Jammed into this one word is everything good: peace, prosperity, freedom, love, harmony, completeness, health, contentment, well-being, safety. Nothing that blesses a life is missing. This is shalom. This has been our quest."

Our quest ever since Eden, that is. Since that day when Adam and Eve breached "shalom" with God, mankind has been striving to regain peace. Everything in this world changed as a result of that disobedience. Peace with God was gone, replaced by fear and anxiety. We struggle, search, and hope that one day peace will be restored to our lives and to our world.

But we always look in the wrong direction; we look outward, not inward, for the root cause. Welch continues to make the case that WE are what's wrong; "It is always our government, our bosses, our parents, our spouses, or our genetic code. Rarely does anyone answer the question, 'What is wrong with the whole world?' with 'I am.' We blame-shift, judge, and find fault in others while we pardon ourselves. When we see such arrogant behavior in others, we are outraged. But in ourselves, it somehow seems like we are doing justice. We have been wronged and we are trying to make it right, by yelling, belittling, ignoring, by hating... When we are quick to judge others rather than look at our own hearts, we are electing to live outside of the kingdom of heaven, and outside the kingdom there are only false hopes of peace."

So the old 1955 song "Let There Be Peace on Earth, and Let it Begin with Me" was really theologically astute. If we want to make progress in our lives and in our world, we need to start with our sin and end with Christ, for in Him is true Shalom.