Shalom is more than peace as we understand it. It is a communal wholeness, reality as God intends creation to be. It is a description of God’s kingdom.

God’s Kingdom Come Series 

Each summer, I take time away from commenting on the upcoming Narrative Lectionary Bible passage to explore other topics related to faith formation. Last month, I explored the topic of immigration, inspired by our most recent product, Learning Together: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees). In August, I’m reflecting on the kingdom of God, one of my favorite concepts in Scripture. Last week, I connected hesed (the Hebrew word for covenantal love, among other things) to God’s kingdom. Today I’m focusing on my favorite concept of all: shalom.

Individual or Communal

As my faith has evolved throughout my adult life, I have become unsatisfied with the common focus on individual salvation/justification (or to put it less formally, our personal relationship with God). In this sense, we gather together for worship and fellowship to further develop each of our individual relationships with God.

What has excited my interest much more is the communal aspect of faith and the concrete impact of that faith on earthly life.

My Favoritest Concept in the World: Shalom

Yes, I said above that my favorite concept in Scripture is the kingdom of God. But my favoritest concept is best described with the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is inextricably interwoven with God’s kingdom.

But what is shalom? 

Beyond War and Peace, Peace and Quiet

Simply put, shalom means peace. But our word “peace” is inadequate to express the width and depth of shalom. In English (and I believe many/most other modern languages), peace is defined as the absence of violence and conflict or even a rough synonym for quiet. Yes, those are included in shalom, but they represent only a sliver of its meaning.

Shalom: Communal Wholeness

I understand that shalom comes from a Hebrew word for “wholeness.” And wholeness is a critical aspect of shalom. 

Shalom is a reality where all people have all that they need to thrive.

While individuals can mostly have what they need to thrive on their own, it is like the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 

All people: I cannot have complete shalom if someone in my community does not. So, shalom is necessarily communal—a shared experience. It is true that shalom can exist within a closed community, but for God’s shalom, our community is all of creation.

All they need: What do we need to thrive, to be whole? When we think of our needs, we usually focus on the needs of our bodies to survive: food, water, clothing, shelter, healthcare, safety, etc. But we are more than just our bodies. Our hearts and minds (internal selves) need human relationships, support, joy, mental engagement, etc. And we are more than just bodies, hearts, and minds. We have spiritual needs, too, like faith, hope, love, and (yes) inner peace.

To thrive: Survival is, of course, paramount. But shalom goes far beyond mere survival. God wants those who are lovingly created in God’s image to thrive. A weak, stunted plant is surviving, but a strong, growing, flourishing plant is thriving. God intends us to be strong, growing, and flourishing, to live our best lives. This means that our needs are met abundantly. We have abundant nutritious food and clean water, comfortable shelter, amazing health, maximally loving and healthy relationships, a complete relationship with God, and more.

 The Opposite: Poverty

All of this means that the opposite of shalom is not violence, conflict, or disruption. The opposite is poverty, especially when we extend that concept to include a lack of any one of our needs. 

In my view, poverty is not specifically a lack of money. It is when one or more of our needs is not being met sufficiently. Of course, to meet many of our needs (especially our physical needs), we must buy them. So a lack of money is an accessible measure of poverty. However, children might not have any money, but they can certainly have their needs met. And (for the most part), our internal and spiritual needs can’t be purchased (for the most part, as mental health is often accessed through purchasing counseling, etc.).

Too Worldly?

Some might argue that my focus here is too worldly, ignoring the spiritual and the work of Christ on the cross. In some ways, yes, that’s true. I am focused on God’s intention for the world around us, and what we need to do about it (more below). But, at the beginning of this post, I mentioned a change in focus from individual salvation toward a communal aspect of faith. A change in focus is neither ignoring the original focus nor rejecting it. 

Second, God did not create us as spirits stuck in bodies (that’s gnosticism) but as physical beings. Jesus wasn’t God wearing human skin, but fully God and fully human. The risen Christ had a body that could eat and wounds Thomas could touch. The entire concept of the resurrection is bodily (though a different type of body, see 1 Corinthians 15). The entirety of Scripture speaks an awful lot about how we are to act toward each other (not to mention worshipping God with our whole, embodied selves). So, no, I don’t feel bad or heretical for focusing on the world around me. Now back to shalom.

Shalom, Love, and the Kingdom of God

Shalom is the ideal state of creation. The further away from the state of shalom we are, the further we are from the way God intends for us to live. Selfishness, the opposite of love, is the root of sin, and brokenness is the state of the world without God’s peace (shalom).

Indeed, a world devoted to loving God and loving others is a world in the state of shalom. Love is the action, and shalom is the result. Sin, brokenness, and separation from God are antithetical to shalom. God’s peace is a world defined by love, a world in which God’s will is done. Shalom is an inherent and central characteristic of the kingdom of God.

We can see the kingdom of God, reality as God intends it to be, described in two “places” in Scripture. The first is the Garden of Eden. The garden is described as a place that has all that the first humans needed to thrive, including the very presence of God. The second is the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22. That is the perfection of the kingdom where there is no suffering or death, and God dwells there.

A Future for Hope

I don’t know about you, but the idea of a world where God’s kingdom has come and will is done, a reality of complete love and shalom, is pretty exciting to me. Not only is this a future that gives me sustaining hope, but it also provides me with an ideal to strive for. By actively loving our neighbors, we are working to make God’s kingdom visible and tangible to the world around us. Sure, we can never reach this ideal future on our own, even with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Injustice, selfishness, apathy, and hate are too ingrained in the fabric of our broken world. We need a “reality transplant.” One might even say a new heaven and earth. But just because perfection is impossible for us doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our best. 

God calls us to be faithful workers, not perfect ones.                      

Go, love God and love others.

In Christ’s love,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Order Faith Formation Resources

The 2025-2026 program year is almost here! Do you have all the faith formation resources you need? Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online and ready to order, with the Fall and Winter lessons available for immediate download (with Spring coming very soon)! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more? Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees).

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units! Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

I am very honored to announce that I was a guest on the premiere episode of season 3 of the Around the Table podcast! The topic: how faith formation is different than Christian education. Check it out at Around the Table S03E01.

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

• Resources for the Narrative Lectionary (2025-2026): Products for all ages, including mini lessons for PK-6th, if you only have a short time for elementary faith formation.
• Classic Sunday School Curriculum: Key Bible stories for PK-2nd and 3rd-6th, also great for your Christian elementary school!
• Learning Together: Five-lesson, topical units for VBS, Sunday school, children, and intergenerational classes.
• Resources for the Revised Common Lectionary (2025-2026): Intergenerational classroom, mini lessons for children.
• Cross+Generational Confirmation
• Worship and Liturgy Education

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