The Extra Mile

 

I am sure you have heard the expression, "Go the extra mile."  It is actually a biblical principle.  It comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount where he was teaching about how to successfully love an enemy.  In Matthew 5:41 he says, "And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."  To fully understand this you have to know a little bit about the context Jesus was living in.  The Jewish people in the first century A.D. were under Roman occupation.  The Romans were pretty lax on the people they governed, as long as they paid their taxes and did what they were told they were given a lot of freedom in how they managed their own affairs.  One of the stipulations, though, was that a Roman soldier could consign any Jewish person to carry their armor for them up to one mile, no questions asked.  Jesus used this common source of frustration and bitterness to make a point - go above and beyond for others, even your enemies.

If we are to treat enemies with this attitude of generosity, how much more are we to treat everyone else, especially considering that we are always seeking to shine the light of Jesus to draw people out of the darkness.  One of the biggest obstacles to this being consistently lived out for me is busyness.  I know I am not unique in this.  We all have a lot going on, even our downtime is typically filled up with errands, projects, and technology.  It is difficult to make space to go any distance with others, not to mention anything extra.

I want to pose a question here, and this is not meant to apply pressure or produce any feelings of guilt, it is simply meant for personal reflection.  Are we failing to engage others with Jesus because we have forgotten how to go the extra mile?  I have people tell me regularly that they do not share their faith because they are not around non believers very often.  I get that, I spend a lot of my waking hours inside of a church building surrounded by Christians.  This is actually where the extra mile comes in.  If living on mission - The Great Commission - is truly a priority for us, then we have to be willing to move outside of the boundaries of our comfort and go looking for opportunities.  Jesus spoke of doing more than required by those in authority.  But no one is forcing us to share Jesus, it is meant to be a privilege.

Jesus gave me an up close and personal lesson on this topic just last week.  I want to begin this story by saying I guard my evenings off.  I only get a couple during the week and I value the time spent with my family and getting to rest.  Many weeks my first night off is on Thursday, but this time Breeze had a playdate planned with a friend from school.  I took her over to her friend's house and spent three and a half hours hanging out with the other dad.  We had a really nice time, the other dad is a great guy, but this was not in my "comfort zone," I rarely spend so much time at once with anyone other than my wife and girls.  During that evening the Holy Spirit prompted me to invite them to church on Sunday (this is where the extra mile comes in).

The other dad's wife was out of town helping her mother who has cancer.  I knew there was a daddy-daughter dance coming up on Sunday afternoon and asked him if he planned to attend.  He told me he wasn't sure because he didn't know how he would get his daughter ready for it (I can relate because I'm helpless with my girls' hair too).  So again, prompted by the Holy Spirit, I invited him and his daughter over for lunch after church and my wife offered to help his little girl get ready for the dance along with ours (I messaged my wife first).  In total, we ended up spending about twelve hours together in two days, between the playdate, church, lunch, and dance.  Please hear me, it was a wonderful time, but it was not within my "comfort zone."

I am really thankful I had the chance to go that extra mile, because it was a huge blessing to my daughter, to him and his daughter, and to me as well.  He and his daughter had a great first experience at the church and connected to several people, and promise to be back with the mom soon.  Getting to help another young family find their way into our local church is incredibly rewarding for me.  I want to be on the lookout for more opportunities to go further than is asked, requested, or expected.  Those are the moments that I really get to show people the love of Jesus, and it is in those situations that I get to act most like Him.  When it comes to living on mission less is not more.