Be shalom...

December 26, 2012

Be shalom...

By Bobby Schuller, Crystal Cathedral Pastor

"I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."

-John 14:27

Peace begins with you and peace begins with me. That's the message that comes from the Prince of Peace. We may call upon the Prince of Peace to end the violence, to end the abuse of others, to end the wars. But Jesus says, "I want the brokenness inside of you to change. That's where I want to start." That's what Jesus says to us.

And there's no point in cutting down the weeds if we don't pull up the roots. When read about peace in the Bible, we read that it is rooted in this word, shalom. It's a greeting. It's like aloha, good-bye, and hello. It means peace, but it also means welfare, and primarily wholeness. The word shalom means to be made whole, to be complete.

There's a part in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talks about loving your enemies who hate you, and turning the other cheek. He finishes by saying, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." We could interpret that to mean that there's a list of rules that we need to follow perfectly, but what Jesus is saying is to "be shalom." Be at peace. Be perfected in the sense of being made whole, being made new, being a new creation.

Prayer: Dear Lord, pull up the roots of my fear, failures, and hopelessness. Replant me in the good soil of your love, making me whole, complete, at peace, and able to grow and flourish in your kingdom on earth. Amen