Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

In the Hebrew tradition, shalom (often translated as “peace”) means something like “the world as it should be.” Everything is put right—no injustice, nothing to be angry about, nothing to fight over.

If the Spirit is in our lives, we can’t help but want to make the world the way it should be. That can be in small things, like bringing a meal to a neighbor who’s sick, or learning to speak with kindness to people at our workplace, or at church, or at home. It can be personal, like paying attention to places in our own hearts that are not as they should be and working to repair those. It can also be big, culture-shaping movements.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). God is one who makes peace, and if we also make peace, we are like God. Parents and children often look alike, so it’s no surprise someone would look at a peacemaker and think, That’s one of God’s kids.

A peacemaker looks carefully at the world and asks, “Is this the way God desires the world to be?” And when they inevitably find places where it is not—in their communities, their churches, their own hearts—they start making changes. Peacemakers are always pushing to make things better.

• Shalom is the act of saying, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
• Shalom is the prayer, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”
• Shalom is seeing the world as it is and envisioning what it could be.
• Shalom is rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

Questions for Reflection

God empowers all of us to provide healing and reconstruction in a damaged world. Where is he asking you to spread shalom today?