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I often think about the gospel and how it was presented to me. It was in the country roads of southern Arkansas, where my grandmother sang in the choir of a Black church. It was the hands raised, the strength of the Black women, and the rapping of the pastor that excited my soul. It always struck me that pain, joy, and hope could coexist. 

But I believe, as a follower of Christ, that it is essential to be an intentional, active member of a church community. Membership facilitates opportunities for vulnerable relationships and accountability. 

Even now, eight years since my last Trek, I constantly recognize how the Treks have taught and shaped me into the person I am today. They weren’t just summer missions trips. They were launching points for lifelong discipleship, where I learned how to persevere and follow God through adversity.

All this begs the question: how do we allow the good news about Jesus to take on the beauty and diversity of other cultures without infusing beliefs that are contrary to the gospel?

What if we approached the New Year with a new take on creating resolutions? What if instead of “trying to fix ourselves,” we chose one thing we wanted more of? Something we want to bring into our lives in order to follow Christ more closely.

Exposing our sins—although uncomfortable—is exactly what we need. It’s the first step in being cleansed of them and reminds us that no matter how great our sin, Jesus is greater!

My everyday life carries the thumbprints of the generational traumas, sins, and blessings of our collective stories. The lessons I’ve learned from the matriarchs of my family and our immigration stories shape how I engage with Scripture and the gospel. And as a multicultural, multiethnic, and multiracial woman, I know that stepping into Oklahoma means bringing my family’s stories and lives with me.

As I reflect on what contextualization means in today’s world, I believe it is more about who you are rather than the specific things you do.

Jesus is at work in the shape of the world, through the shape of the world. “Gradually, then suddenly” is the shape that transformation takes in God’s kingdom. It can be hard to see with our limited, sin-damaged perception. Yet, it is happening nonetheless.     

Wisdom invites us into a way of life. Wisdom links us together with the community of the formerly-and-sometimes-still-a-little foolish, who are on their way to becoming wise. Wisdom sends us together into the world with a message of hope, life, and justice that shines like the sun.