There’s a peace that goes beyond peace.
One more universal than doves and olive branches.
One more profound than pre-dawn silence.
One more complete than your boxed set of Friends.
It’s the peace that existed in Eden,
that gave Abraham his strength,
that steadied Jesus in Gethsemane.
Not the peace of this world, the Roman “pax.”
A peace so other and holy it’s part of God’s name,
Yet so common and accessible it’s a routine greeting.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Shalom.
Rabbi Robert I. Kahn writes:
“One can dictate a peace; shalom is a mutual agreement.
Peace is a temporary pact; shalom is a permanent agreement.
One can make a peace treaty; shalom is the condition of peace.
Peace can be negative, the absence of commotion.
Shalom is positive, the presence of serenity.
Peace can be partial; shalom is whole.
Peace can be piecemeal; shalom is complete.”
This is the peace Jesus died to give us.
Not the peace of this world—His. God’s own eternal, foundational sense of wholeness. His personal shalom, available to us moment by moment.
If only we remember it’s ours.
“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 NLT]