It ends with a renewed relationship between the two parties, the sharing of blessings and promises, and even a feast. The Abimelech story, for example, ends with more than just swords staying in their scabbards. 26:31).īut “peace” in that sense only begins to scratch at the surface of the richness of the concept of shalom. Think of a parent frustrated with bickering children: “I just want some peace and quiet!” Shalom is sometimes used similarly in the Old Testament, such as when King Abimelech departs from Isaac “peacefully” (literally: “in shalom”) after an episode of simmering tension that could have broken out into violence (Gen. The word shalom, which we find throughout the Old Testament, is often translated into English as “peace.” We sometimes use the word “peace” to describe the absence of overt conflict. One key biblical image that can refresh that vision in this divided moment is that of shalom.
A renewed way of being in community with one another will take patience, hard work, and a reconsideration of the vision that guides our engagement with one another. What can Christians do to inhabit this fraught moment in a way that reflects the peace of God, the reconciliation of Christ, and the fruit of the Spirit? Given that the church has been painfully afflicted by these divisions, it’s clear that there are no quick fixes or magic Christian answers. How deep do these fissures cut into the body of Christ? But we’re also left wondering whether we’re really that far apart on these important topics. Many of the issues at the heart of this polarization are extremely serious-racial justice, abortion, voting rights, responses to a pandemic, how best to encourage a flourishing economy. And both sides of the polarity have increasingly gravitated toward media outlets that only further fuel each side’s distaste with the other, as well as their sense that the other side is ruining society. Many folks on each side have grown accustomed to dismissing or even demonizing those on the other side. Left and Right have moved more starkly away from one another.
#Path of exile lion banner effect series#
This series has been digging into today’s political polarization in the United States and (to a lesser extent) Canada, a situation of deep division that has also affected the Church. To read more articles in the series right now, visit. and Canada and explore Christian strategies to overcome it. ” The series, in collaboration with The Colossian Forum, aims to examine the state of polarization in the U.S.
Editor’s note: This article is the last in our series, “ Seeking Shalom in the Midst of Polarization.
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