I was with someone who got a tattoo of SHALOM (like the picture above) on their lower back. SHALOM is the hebrew word for PEACE... as I've been praying this morning with the rest of the Army world... I've been thinking about that tattoo... I mean - imagine that our whole lives were rooted in shalom - which is more than the absence of conflict but the presence of the fullness of God in all things... we'd be so full we wouldn't have room for violence. Fullness is what Peace looks like in the end... violence comes through war and through inaction, poverty - it looks like assault and withdrawal.. we can perpetuate violence by doing nothing at all... I'd like to live a life marked by SHALOM... not just in ink (although that does cross my mind!) but on my heart, on my actions, in my everyday. SHALOM for everyday.
Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers... that is an action term (ironically we understand it better when we say troublemakers)... makers of peace are those who actively pursuing bringing peace to the world. Jesus would know - that was the announcement of His coming - the good news that Christ was born was deeply connected to Peace On Earth. I want to see the fullness of that angelic proclamation. He is the prince of Peace... peace with God, peace with others - the recipe for peace making is found in the greatest commandments.. to love God and to love others... that recipe is peace in the making.
Today, as you join us in personal and corporate prayer - perhaps that's a decent question: are you a peace maker?
SHALOM.