Shalom and Calling
I like to talk about and teach on shalom. Though people aren’t always accustomed to the term to describe universal wholeness and delight for which God created the cosmos, I find that they quickly understand it as a structure from which to view the Christian story. One of my favorite writers on shalom is Cornelius Plantinga. Here’s an excerpt from an article on Christian higher education that I think applies to all human endeavors.
[The prophets] “They dreamed of a new age in which crookedness would be straightened out, rough places made plain. The foolish would be made wise, and the wise, humble. They dreamed of a time when the deserts would flower, the mountains would stream with red wine, a time when weeping would be heard no more, and when people could sleep without weapons on their laps. People could work in peace, their work having meaning and point. A lion could lie down with a lamb, the lion cured of all carnivorous appetite. All nature would be fruitful, benign, and filled with wonder upon wonder; all humans would be knit together in brotherhood and sisterhood; and all nature and all humans would look to God, walk with God, lean toward God, and delight in God, their shouts of joy and recognition welling up from valleys and crags, from women in streets and from men on ships.”
For reflection: Read the entire article and think about your own calling to be a part of God’s plan for renewal.
