History testifies and Scripture confirms: in every generation when the majority turns away, God preserves a remnant.
In the Bible, the pattern is unmistakable. The majority turns to Baal, to idolatry, to compromise, to self-glorification. Yet in His mercy, God preserves a faithful “remnant” to keep His promises alive, to show grace, and to rebuild after judgment.
Genesis 45:7 — “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.”
1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Romans 11:5 — “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.”
In every generation of Israel, God has protected this remnant. Not because they were perfect, but because His covenant is perfect. Not because of human narrative, but in spite of it. Not for political power, but for divine purpose. The remnant exists to fulfill God’s promises and destiny above all human compromise and obsession with self.
This is not ancient history. This is a powerful Word of God for the Nagas today. “Nagaland For Christ.”
When nations forget God
Retrospectively and Biblically, Israel’s story is our mirror. In times of prosperity they forgot. In times of pressure they compromised. They built altars to Baal — to money, to power, to political convenience, to ethnic hatred. The majority followed the crowd.
But God never left Himself without witness. He preserved a remnant. Small in number, great in faith. Hidden, but not forgotten. Persecuted, but not destroyed. The remnant carried the covenant through exile. The remnant rebuilt the walls after judgment. The remnant kept the Word alive when kings were corrupt.
Logically and theologically, the remnant is not a club. It is a calling. It is not about pride. It is about preservation. God preserves the remnant not to condemn the majority, but to redeem the nation.
The Naga parallel
The Naga people know what it means to be few among many. We know what it means to stand on hills while empires rise and fall in the valleys. Our history is a history of covenant. Our fathers did not receive the Gospel as a foreign religion. They received it as fulfillment. From the first missionaries to the last village church, the cry went up: “Nagaland For Christ”.
That was not a political slogan. It was a consecration. It was a people saying: Our land, our children, our future belong to the Living God, not to Baal.
But like Israel, we are now at a critical intersection. Introspectively, we must ask: Have we begun to bow?
Have we traded covenant for compromise? Have we allowed politics, corruption, tribalism, and the love of money to become our modern Baals? Have we, in the obsession for self-glorification, forgotten the God who brought us this far?
The signs are serious. Villages are divided. Youth are drifting. Leaders bargain. The highways of our life spiritual, social, and physical are being choked. The temptation to be silent in the face of injustice is immense.
Yet magnificently and faithfully, God is still preserving a remnant among the Nagas.
The remnant today
The remnant today is not defined by denomination, tribe, or position. The remnant is defined by knees that have not bowed to Baal.
1. The Remnant is Moral and Courageous
They refuse to sell their conscience for contracts. They refuse to use the church for politics and politics for the church. They speak up for those who cannot speak [Proverbs 31:8]. They are the pastors who preach truth when it costs them. The mothers who pray at 4am. The youth who say no to drugs and yes to purity. The elders who guard land and truth.
2. The Remnant is Lawful and Wise
They do not respond to violence with violence, to hatred with hatred. They assert their rights lawfully, protect their people prudently, and engage politically with wisdom. They document history. They build institutions. They educate the next generation. They are aggressive in defense, but compassionate in community.
3. The Remnant is Unified in Christ, Not in Compromise
Romans 11:5 says the remnant is “chosen by grace.” Grace does not divide. Grace gathers. The Naga remnant must rise above Naga vs Naga. Above tribe vs tribe. Above ego of organizations. The cross is big enough to cover all Naga tribes. “Nagaland For Christ” means Christ first, tribe second.
4. The Remnant is Prophetic and Rebuilding
Like Nehemiah, the remnant rebuilds walls. The wall of family. The wall of integrity. The wall of land rights. The wall of prayer. The remnant does not wait eighty years for a political solution to start obeying God today. They fix what can be fixed today. They protect who can be protected today.
Political, social and spiritual imperative
Politically: We must remind the Government of India and the Government of Manipur that the Naga issue is not just territorial. It is covenantal. You cannot have peace in a land where God’s people are erased. Any roadmap for Manipur that ignores the Naga remnant is a roadmap to further crisis.
Socially: We must protect our villages, our women, our children, and our highways. To allow encroachment, to allow illegal roads, to allow our lifeline NH-102A, NH-202 to be held hostage, is to allow Baal to set up altars in our gates.
Spiritually: We must return to the altar. “Nagaland For Christ” must move from banners to behavior. From memory to mission. From nostalgia to now. We must teach our children the Bible more than we teach them grievances. We must pray more than we protest.
Conclusion
To the Naga people in general, and to the Nagas of Manipur in particular: hear the Word of the Lord.
The majority may turn to Baal. The majority may choose compromise, corruption, and comfort. But God is looking for a remnant.
Will you be that remnant?
Will you be the 7,000 who do not bow?
Will you be the Joseph sent to preserve life in a time of famine?
Will you be the one who chooses accountability over apathy, responsibility over blame, and Christ over everything?
The hour is critical. The pressure is immense. But our God is the God of the remnant. He preserved Israel. He will preserve the Nagas. Not because we deserve it, but because He is faithful to His promises.
Let us be amazingly resilient, incredibly united, and beautifully dignified. Let us be strong in defense, wise in negotiation, and humble before God.
The road ahead is hard. But we are a people of the hills. We know how to climb. And more importantly, we know who to follow.
Nagaland For Christ.
Not in word only, but in deed.
Not tomorrow, but today.
Not for our glory, but for His.
May God bless the Naga people.
May He guard our land.
May He keep His remnant and through them, rebuild our nation.
For if not us, who?
And if not now, when?
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Michael Meiphami Shaiza is Co-incharge of BJP Manipur State Political Programmes and Meetings and President of Ukhrul-based NGO Ecological Rehabilitators’ Association (ERA).
(Views expressed are writers’ own and do not, in whatsoever manner, reflect that of Ukhrul Now)
