To know Jesus is indeed to know Him as revealed in the struggle of the people for freedom because God’s act for humanity involves humanity’s liberation from repression. The Church needs to therefore make the gospel relevant in the social and political context of the people so that there is a consciousness that their pursuit for dignity is God’s struggle too. The task of Naga theology therefore is to relate to the peoples effort for humanity, which is an expression of the image of God. Liberation after all should not be constructed simply as a future event, but should be imparted as a divine future that breaks into the present realities and bestows human wholeness in the present situation of suffering.
The Naga theology would be more relevant if it is able to present Christ incarnated in Naga culture, values and worldviews which speaks the realities and represents the conscious voice of Naga people. The gospel needs to be interpreted in a new light creating new maturity and consciousness in one’s faith for people to relate and find answers in the gospel which makes sense to the reality. It is essential for Naga church leaders to see how radical a person Jesus is, and the fact that He was put to death for political reasons too (among other things). If Nagas profess to be His followers, they have a responsibility to be change-makers and to bring God's kingdom to earth, where justice will roll down, the hungry will be fed, the oppressed released and the voiceless given voice.
Hence, the Naga Church should develop or work on the theology of the people and that can be done only when it is truly involved with the people. This implies walking with the people through their daily struggle and sharing both their pain and their joy. The Church must earn the respect and trust of the people. It is fundamental for the Naga Church to walk with the people because there is no liberation without transformation and no liberation without the commitment to act against injustice and oppression. As Gustavo would say “the goal is not only better living conditions, a radical change of structures, a social revolution; it is much more: the continuous creation, never ending, of a new way to be human ...”
The Naga Church through its prophetic role must empower the people to transcend hatred and vengeance, because they are in fact the very denial of freedom. The task of redemption therefore is not only about changing individuals, but also transforming institutions; after all personal redemption cannot take place apart from the redemption of the existing social structure. God not only seeks to liberate people from the powers, but liberates the powers from their destructive course of behavior and to free the people from all that would make them less than He wants them to be – fully human as free as Jesus showed himself to be. Hence to be a person of faith is to transform humanity in its wholeness which arises out of love, love for ourselves, love for our God and love for humanity.
