You walk down the street and spot a homeless man sleeping.
You see a distraught woman asking for money.
You hear screams through the walls of your apartment.
You drive by an intersection and notice a group of immigrants waiting for work.
You observe strange men coming in and out of a neighbors home.
You read the news.
Everyday, we can see evidence that the world is not as it should be. The reason for this is because there is a lack of shalom in our broken world. Shalom is the Hebrew world for peace which has a deep meaning.
…In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.
Cornelius Plantinga
The lack of shalom creates longings within us.
We all have longings, and we all meet them in different ways. What we may not realize is that some of these longings go much deeper than a simple desire to get a decent job, or find a partner. Our longings reflect the gap between our reality and the Kingdom of God to come. When we dig a little deeper, we can see our “Kingdom Longings,” which are the deep desires of our hearts that the Kingdom of God will one day fulfill. Explore how longings are displayed in the Bible, our culture’s narratives, our own lives, and the world.
Kingdom Longings
A four week study exploring how the kingdom of God meets us in our deepest longings.