Viva Cristo Rey

 

 

Somewhere in time, in the year 1926, Mexico had a civil war.  I recently heard about this and I was shocked.  I have read so many history books and never heard of a Mexican Civil war that was centered on the issues of religious freedom.  The war was called “The Cristero War”.  When Mexico gained its independence from Spain and created their constitution, they had written in laws restricting Christian practices.  The laws weren’t enforced right away, so they went largely unnoticed.  The President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles, felt the power of the Catholic Church was a threat so he chose to enforce the laws.

People did what you would expect when they saw their freedoms being taken away, they tried a peaceful solution.  They signed petitions and sent them to the government.  Surely if the government understood the thoughts of the people, they would repeal the repressive laws.  Unfortunately, their attempts failed. They tried a few more things, but every effort they made was met with a deaf ear and no changes. 

While this was happening, churches were closing.   Foreign born ministers were deported.  Priests caught in public in their clerical clothing, where arrested.   Then things went from bad to worse and Priests were killed in the churches where they served and loved and cared for the people. Finally the people felt they had no choice, they had to resist to the point of civil war.

Their war cry was – Viva Crist Rey – which means, long live Christ the King. 

I heard about this when I heard about a movie being made called, “For Greater Glory.”  I watched the movie and it’s a very compelling story. It is an adult movie because it depicts a war, but it's still a story worth watching.  I was amazed at the courage and strength shown by the Christians in Mexico. They had the courage to stand up for their faith, for their church and for their God. 

I believe that now is the time for Christians to be courageous.  To stand up for what we believe in.  We can’t let our freedoms be chipped away, or before we know it we will have no freedoms at all. I know that I live in America and I'm fortunate to be in one of the freest countries in the world, but even here, freedom is being challenged.

In New Orleans, they have a law that restricts street preachers from preaching after dark. This chips away at freedom.  It seems to go against our basic constitutional rights of the freedom of speech and religion.

1 Corinthians 16:13 - 14 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”

I know it says - be men of courage – I believe that means men and women of courage.  Sometime we ladies have to be strong as well.  

I know it feels that it’s hard to stand against opposition and still show love.  In the matter of the Cristero War, how can an armed conflict show love?  Defending the defenseless and being a voice for those that can’t speak is love.  I can’t speak for everyone in every country, but here in America we are not to a point of armed conflict, but we still need to make sure our voice is heard. Defending our right to worship as we please and to speak up for the unborn and to cherish our young and old.  Not because we hate, but because we love.     

 

FOR GREATER GLORY - Standing Up For Your Faith from gracehillmedia on GodTube.