The Alamo

The Alamo, is an old restored mission building in San Antonio, Texas. It has been called “the cradle of Texas liberty.” Built as a chapel after 1744, it is all that remains of the mission of San Antonio de Valero, which was founded in 1718 by Franciscans and later converted into a fortress. In the Texas Revolution, San Antonio was taken by Texas revolutionaries in December, 1835, and was lightly garrisoned. When Mexican General Santa Anna approached with an army of several thousand in February, 1836, only some 150 men held the Alamo, and confusion, indifference, and bickering among insurgents throughout Texas prevented help from joining them, except for 32 volunteers from Gonzales who slipped through the Mexican siege lines. Defying surrender demands, the Texans in the fort determined to fight. The siege, which began February 24th, ended with hand-to-hand fighting within the walls on March 6th. William B. Travis, James Bowie, Davy Crockett, and some 180 other defenders died, but the heroic resistance roused fighting anger among Texans, who six weeks later defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, crying, “Remember the Alamo!” The chapel-fort became a state preserve in 1883. Its surroundings were added in 1905, and the complex, restored in 1936–39, is now a major tourist attraction. As you read these words I will be in San Antonio visiting this memorial to these brave heroes of freedom.

Such courage is hard to imagine in the face of so many indifferent and apathetic people today. This kind of bravery calls for great sacrifice. Yet, it is not intended to be the exception, but the rule for those who follow Christ.

As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you no matter where you go." But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head." He said to another person, "Come, be my disciple." The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." Jesus replied, "Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God." Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family." But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62 NLV).

While “Remember the Alamo” was a great rallying cry to freedom, “Remember Christ” ought to be far more powerful for those who claim to be His followers. Renew your commitment to keep your hand to the plow. David Livingstone said:

People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice, which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life—these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory, which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.