The Extra Mile

The Extra Mile
by Jason Cruise

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. - Jesus. Matthew 5:41 "... if someone forces you ..."   

Ever feel forced into a journey? I've been there. You are forced to work with this person because the Human Resources guru who hired them was mentally out to lunch during the interview. Now they are on the team with you, and there you go. You're in the journey whether you like it or not.

Though it's just a few times a year, maybe you are forced to cross paths with a person in your family because they are, in fact, in the family.

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It never ends. Life is full of militant weirdos, all around you, who draw you into their drama whether you like it or not. Inevitably you will cross paths with them in the journey.

The longer I live the more I see that Jesus' call on my life to go the extra mile is not nearly as much about the other person as it is about me. Yes, my going the extra mile is a living example of what it means to have grace extended to the one making things difficult. It is, perhaps, the greatest testimony one can offer ... to give grace. I get that.  

I do believe, however, that going the extra mile is God's way of showing youmore about yourself, and more about His heart, that can only be found through mileage. He has a way, in the second mile, of exposing your own insecurities. His character seems to manifest itself in ways that never could have been manifested in the first leg of the trek.


How many times have you chosen to go the extra mile, only to find yourself further down the road of life much wiser and infinitely more full of grace, because you understand more about the person and their situation that you ever did beforehand? A relationship is about two people, not one, and it's in the context of relationships that God wants to show you more of Himself ... and you simply can't get that if you stop at Mile Marker 1.

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