Burning Your Ships

When Hernando Cortez and his small force of men landed at Veracruz in 1519 to 
begin their conquest of Mexico , Cortez purposely set fire to his fleet of 11 ships.  
On the shore, his men watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico .  With no means of retreat, there was only one direction to move: forward into the Mexican interior to meet whatever might come their way.*

It’s all about commitment!

Sadly today, many refuse to commit themselves to anyone or anything, and more and more people are proving unfaithful to promises they have already made.  Unwilling to “burn their ships” behind them, many enter into agreements or “covenants” without any REAL commitment, always making sure to leave the door open so they can return to their former conduct or way of life should the going get tough.

In order to follow Christ, we, too, must “burn our ships.”

Our “ships” include anything that would prevent us from following Jesus and finding the truly abundant life (John 10:10) and eternal life to come (Mark 10:28-30).  “Burning our ships” means that we will turn away from any sinful thought, attitude, or action and determine to follow Jesus. This is what the Bible calls repentance (see 2 Cor7:9-10).

Jesus used the farming occupation to illustrate the commitment that is required in following Him: "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).

The Apostle Paul “burned his ships” in order to follow Christ: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14).

Jesus wants to lead us to eternal paradise in heaven.  To follow Him, we must believe in Him (Acts 16:30-31), “burn our ships” in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  And, we must commit to following Him faithfully throughout our journey (1 John 1:7).

Following Jesus is worth ANY and EVERY sacrifice that we may have to make, but we must burn OUR ships, and follow Him.

Won’t YOU?

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

* From a devotional given by Eddie Holt at Creekwood

To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:

                      HTML version:  subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net
                   TEXT version:  subscribe-livingwater-text@lyris.dundee.net

Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com

Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org