Shalom, His Justice

Opportunity

God is working in me and in Tiffany, doing a new work within us and through us. An opportunity has been placed in our path, and we are earnestly seeking His direction. The task is a task of justice, kindness and humility; but what does justice, kindness and humility look like through the lens of Christ Jesus? Today I am intrigued with this word, a word I have heard many times before, but the concept seems vague still: justice.


Shalom
In seeking His heart for justice, I am praying and reading His word; I am studying the findings of others. Shalom was brought to my attention. Jim Wallis, in his entry How the Bible Understands Justice, paints a picture of shalom as justice for us. Let me share a few of his ideas that stood out to me:


One of the clearest and most holistic words for justice is the Hebrew shalom, which means both “justice” and “peace.” Shalom includes “wholeness,” or everything that makes for people’s well-being, security, and, in particular, the restoration of relationships that have been broken.
The deeply biblical idea of shalom is the reason justice always has to be “social.” But justice is also about restoring our broken relationship with God to what He intends for us, which includes our role in God’s purposes for all of His creatures and for the world that He has made.
The biblical words for justice all relate to the fairness, judgment, love, and healing of God. And it is clear that justice is also part of our worship of God.
A worshiping community is only acceptable to God if its members are acting every day to make justice more possible in the world — which is of itself an act of worship.
So justice, most simply, means putting things right again — fixing, repairing, and restoring broken relationships. And doing justice restores our relationship with God and makes our worship of God authentic.

The Manifestation of ShalomTherefore, God calls us to be stewards of justice, demonstrating shalom to the nations – this is our act of worship before God. The justice of God is a beautiful fusion of spiritual and social shalom. We, as His people, are called to worship Christ Jesus; our worship should manifest itself through shalom.


All throughout scripture we see this idea of shalom displayed. The manifestation of Christ as a man was God’s shalom at its finest. Jesus reconfirmed His demonstration of shalom, and His identity, before John the Baptist when He said:

“Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” Luke 7:22 (NIV). And yet we see the greatest act of shalom as He submitted to a horrible death on a cross to bring about salvation to the world and was raised again for all mankind – offering the forgiveness of sin once and for all.


James compares the manifestation of shalom to active faith in James 2:14-17 (NIV):

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
1 John 3:17 (NASB) states very plainly and directly the need for shalom in the life of a believer, otherwise the love of God is in question:

But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Shalom forces God’s people to be benevolent to those in need, and our demonstration of shalom overflows into the lives of men around us, revealing the compassion of Christ to the nations. The church of Corinth was obedient in giving to the cause of the Gospel of Christ and to the poor.


2 Corinthians 9:13 (NIV) states:

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
This was also the mission and heart of Christ Jesus. In Luke 4:18 (NIV) we see the beautiful calling of Christ to shalom:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
In conclusion, shalom is what Jesus Christ calls us to as His followers. We are to manifest shalom as our act of worship before Him. In manifesting the shalom of Christ Jesus, our demonstration of faith and worship overflows into the lives of others. Father, make us a people who manifest your heart through a life of shalom. Help us to be stewards of your shalom, as we take it to the nations.

Please also read Kindness, Love In Action and Humility, To Be Like Christ for additional insight.