Although “peace” is a commonly stated translation of “shalom,” and legitimately so, the Biblical concept is far richer than a mere absence of war and conflict. My favorite definition of shalom is “the way things are supposed to be,” that is, according to God’s original design for this world. There is supposed to be a perfect relationship of trust between God and man. Husbands are supposed to honor their wives rather than point blaming fingers. Brothers are supposed to love rather than kill each other. Families are supposed to stay together with ongoing mutual support, encouragement, and fun. Human society is supposed to be just and fair. Everyone is supposed to be clothed, sheltered, warm, well-fed, and is supposed to have an accepting community to belong to that respects their unique value.

This world is not like that. This world is not the way it is supposed to be. In his book by that title, Cornelius Plantinga describes sin as “vandalism of shalom.” Sin spoils and desecrates the wholistic tranquility of how the world ought to work.

The previous post on this blog considered a special case of such devastation. Intimate relationships are supposed to be deep, stable, secure, and permanent. But rarely is intimacy as deep and comprehensive as we desire, seldom does it last a lifetime, and even the absolute best-case scenarios terminate with death.

But the good news about the bad news which we mediated on in that post extends to the more general case here. This world is not the way that it is supposed to be in order that we might secure our citizenship in the world which is the way it is supposed to be! Not that God Himself directly or artificially disrupts shalom in this world in order to turn our gaze to the Messianic Kingdom, but He allows mankind’s sinful ways to take the full course of their natural shalom-destroying consequences. Again, God doesn’t step in to break up the shalom we have carefully and skillfully cultivated, but He also doesn’t stop our race from tearing the foundations of our own shalom to shreds.

As most parents know, natural consequences are often the best way to learn. “Giving us over” allows us to see that the thoughts and behaviors of man-without-God are inevitably shalom-shattering (Rom 1). Why “inevitably” so? Because God is in Himself the essence of Shalom, just as He “is” Love and (hence) “is” Intimacy. The mutually and eternally loving and accepting Society of the Triune God is the very definition of “the way things are supposed to be.” Why do we even have a nagging sense that such a thing as “The Way Things are Supposed to Be” exists? It is because “The Way” is a divine Person who “Is What He Is Supposed to Be” (YHWH) and who created us in His image.

Thank God that broken shalom hurts so bad. The degree of the pain is a reflection of the degree to which God desires to set our hearts on laying hold of Christ’s Kingdom of Shalom without ever glancing back on this Sodom of a world. Sorrows, especially the deepest sorrows, are a bright red flag emblazoned with the message: “Eternal Shalom is not to be found here! Please look for it elsewhere, and the more urgently and earnestly the better!”

“Come, let us return to the LORD;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up”
(Hosea 6:1).