Forming Faith Blog

Justice Is Shalom

Posted on June 2 2026 by Gregory Rawn

Shalom is God’s vision for the world, where every person has all that they need to flourish. This is the heart and goal of biblical justice.

A group of people sharing a meal with plenty. Shalom is when everyone has plenty.

Greetings! As you may or may not know, during the program year (Sept.-May), this Forming Faith blog publishes weekly information and faith formation ideas for the upcoming Narrative Lectionary reading, along with a monthly “For Leaders” practical post on practical faith formation topics. But in the summer, I publish posts in series on various topics related to faith formation.

For the month of June, I am publishing a series on biblical justice based loosely on our Learning Together: Do Justice curriculum unit. Our Learning Together product series is a collection of five-lesson units on a variety of topics designed to be used with children and intergenerational ministry as an affordable VBS curriculum, or for Sunday school, whole-church series, family events, retreats, and more. So, flexibility is key!

Do Justice: The Curriculum

The Learning Together unit is based on Micah 6:8:

[God] has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God?

And, there are five lessons:

  1. Lesson 1: Honor the Image of God
  2. Lesson 2: Work for Shalom
  3. Lesson 3: Protect the Vulnerable
  4. Lesson 4: Love Your Neighbor
  5. Lesson 5: Justice in God’s Kingdom

This blog series reflects on the subjects of these lessons (though both Lesson 1 and 2 are included here). However, I will be applying those subjects in ways that are not covered in the lessons themselves. In the curriculum, the lessons address these topics in a more universally applicable way.

What Is Justice?

I think that everyone who is old enough to state their opinions can agree that our world is far from perfect. There are great parts of life, but there are also terrible parts. God, our Creator, did not intend for creation to be terrible at all. God intended (and still intends) our world to be perfect. In its most basic form, justice is the work to correct what is wrong in the world.

The brokenness of society stems from human selfishness, indifference, and hatred. And society doesn’t just consist of individual actions, but of economic, political, and other systems. The world’s brokenness is built into society’s systems. We call this systemic injustice. And, systemic injustice requires systemic changes.

Justice and the Image of God

The foundation for justice for all people is found in Genesis 1:27:

So God created humankind in [God’s] image, in the image of God [God] created them.

Genesis 1:27

We are created in God’s image. While what “part” of us is God’s image is disputed, this principle is about what we do with it. In Scripture, the image of God is used in the prohibition of murder (Genesis 9:6), and even how we speak to each other (James 3:9). Because the people we meet are made in the image of God, we should treat them with love and honor.

Do Justice: Shalom

God’s intention for the world, and the goal of justice, is shalom. I would have to say that shalom is one of my favorite and most heart-engaging theological concepts (along with the highly related “kingdom of God,” which will be covered at the end of this series). But what is shalom, and why do I insist on using the Hebrew word instead of the perfectly acceptable English translation “peace”?

I insist on using “shalom” because our English word doesn’t come close to encapsulating the entire meaning of the word (though sometimes I use “God’s peace” as an intermediary step). Our brains often get stuck on previously understood word meanings, even if we try to expand our definitions. It’s often helpful to teach a new (or less-used) word instead. While our word “peace” focuses on a lack of violence or an inner state of contentment and quietude, my research (not having been educated in the Hebrew language) indicates that the word “shalom” comes from the Hebrew word for “complete, whole.” And so:

Shalom is God’s vision for the world: the state where every person has all that they need to flourish.

While there are personal and individual aspects of this shalom, it is primarily about community: “every person.”

The Opposite of Shalom

I see this most clearly when I try to find the opposites of “peace” and “shalom.” The opposite of “peace” is “violence/conflict” or “noise/disruption.” However, if shalom is when every person has what they need to flourish, then its opposite is when every person does not have what they need to flourish.

This means that the opposite of shalom is poverty.

Poverty is when someone does not have “all that they need.” And note that since shalom is a communal concept, it only takes a single person who does not have what they need to flourish to disrupt shalom.

Not Just Surviving, Thriving

We often think about needs in terms of survival. Needs are basic: healthy food, clean water, safe shelter, sufficient clothing, and even supportive relationships/community. However, having “just enough” is not enough. We don’t have shalom when everyone has just their subsistence-level needs met. People need to have what it takes to flourish. It’s about thriving, not just surviving.

Flourishing (or thriving) is harder for me to define. Dictionaries tell me it’s about vigorous growth and healthy development. Both words bring to my mind the image of laughing, playing, healthy children. Survival gives us the resources to walk, but thriving gives us the resources to run, leap, and play.

Peace

Now, the lack of violence/conflict and inner contentment in our concept of peace are necessary and present in shalom. Our communities cannot flourish when there is violence anywhere in them. And not all needs are external. Contentment is critical to thriving. Loving, steady relationships are also necessary, both with other people and with God.

However important the lack of conflict and inner contentment are to complete shalom, there is a major difference here. As we work toward shalom (doing justice), conflict and disruption are necessary and inevitable (though conflict here should not include violence). Contentment with injustice is complicity.

Justice and God’s Goal

Justice is the work toward shalom, and shalom is the goal of justice. And shalom is not just something good to work toward; it is creation as God has always intended it to be. In the creation story, the Garden of Eden was a place of shalom. In the visions of the age to come in the prophets and Book of Revelation, shalom is the defining factor.

We cannot reach a state of shalom by ourselves. Injustice is ingrained too deeply in the structures and systems of human society and in our innate selfishness. The natural world is a place of danger, disaster, and scarcity. And shalom includes a healthy, loving relationship with God. Shalom is the reality that God intends for the entire universe, and there is no way we can get there without God.

Shalom and Faith Formation

But this doesn’t mean that we can sit on our butts and wait for God to act. We might not be able to reach shalom by ourselves, but we can do an awful lot.

First, God has empowered all humans to love one another in word and deed: the ability to be generous, selfless, and kind. While our innate selfishness gets in the way, we can still work to alleviate suffering and change harmful systems.

Second, God empowers us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be connected intimately to God and invite others into this intimate relationship, too.

So, what can you do as a faith formation leader?
  1. Paint the picture. This can—and should—be done for all ages. Every single person you can communicate with has experienced suffering in one or many ways. The brokenness and poverty of our world are visible to all who look around. And everyone, in their own way, can understand what it looks like to be in a community of love, joy, and plenty.
  2. Point out poverty. Not every type of injustice is developmentally appropriate to show every participant, but it is not difficult to find some aspect of the world’s lack of shalom. Make it clear to your participants that this is not how God wants the world to be, that there is a better way.
  3. Inspire action. “Fixing the world” is overwhelming to everyone, but we can all act to bring justice and shalom in some small way. Help participants not to feel powerless by challenging them to do small actions, and perhaps even do larger actions as a group.

I also found a webpage that has many interesting quotes about shalom.

I hope that God gives you a glimpse of God’s vision, igniting your heart and giving you hope.

Shalom to all,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

In the summer, I am busy finishing up the spring quarters of our 2026-2027 faith formation resources (related to the Revised Common Lectionary and Narrative Lectionary). So, I am taking one series from the past and revising it. That is what I am doing with this Justice series. Brand-new posts will be coming in July and August!

Order Faith Formation Resources

Are you planning for summer and the 2026-2027 faith formation programming? Order an affordable VBS-ready Learning Together unit and program-year curriculum for the Narrative Lectionary (Year 1, 2026-2027), Revised Common Lectionary (Years A & B, 2026-2027), or Key Bible Stories (non-lectionary, PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

New RCL faith-at-home resource!

I’m excited to announce a new product series for Spirit & Truth Publishing: Taking Faith Home. Taking Faith Home is a set of weekly devotional resources (often distributed as worship bulletin inserts) that follows the Revised Common Lectionary. We offer it as a Church Year (Dec. 2025 to Nov. 2026) and a Program Year (Spring & Summer 2026 and Sept. 2026 to May 2027). You can also purchase by quarter (Spring, Summer, and Fall). Learn more here and read a review!

VBS, Events, Retreats, and More!

Are you looking for resources for VBS, topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive. Each unit can be used at any time in many different settings, but here are a few suggestions:

+ VBS: Paul’s Adventures (NEW!), Celebrations, Created to Care, God’s Gift of Water, Heroes of the Bible
+ Education, Events, and Retreats: The I AM Statements of Jesus (free!), Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees), Do Justice, Celebrations, Women of the Old Testament, Bible 101

Building Faith has recommended two of our units as VBS curriculum: Paul’s Adventures (reviewed in 2026) and Celebrations (reviewed in 2025)!

You can also read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units.

Our Resources

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

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