Burn the Ships

³While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. (Mark 14:3)

Read the verse again. Have you ever noticed the phrase, “broke the jar”? Our Associate Pastor, Rev. Joe Hill, preached this morning. The scriptural basis of his sermon was this passage from Mark. A woman anoints Jesus with a costly perfume. Joe pointed out that once she broke the jar, there was no going back. Once she broke the jar, she couldn’t go halfway, and save some of the perfume for later. She couldn’t change her mind. She was “all in.”

There is a song from many years ago, written and sung by Steven Curtis Chapman that comes to mind. Chapman opens the song with the story of Cortez. When the Spanish explorer landed near the site of Veracruz, he ordered that the ships be burned, to prevent any idea of retreat. Cortez was “all in.”

Burn the ships, we're here to stay
There's no way we could go back
Now that we've come this far by faith
Burn the ships, we've passed the point of no return
Our life is here
So let the ships burn
When Jesus walked into Jerusalem, and crowds placed palm branches on the ground and shouted Hosanna, there was no turning back. He was “all in.” Jesus had commited everything – his love, his time, and his life to the mission God had given to him.

Do we have that kind of commitment to the task God has set before us? Do we burn the ships or do we maintain a dinghy for escape? Do we walk the tightrope without a net, or do we let fear guide our steps? Do we hold back, not daring to break the perfume jar, or do we sing, “I Surrender All” with our lives?

Do we trust God enough to follow in the footsteps of Christ and go “all in”?