Extra Mile Not Crowded
Matthew 5:38-44 [38] Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: [39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. [40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. [41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. [42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. [43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. [44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Just my opinion, but I think this is a passage of Scripture we would rather just pass over. We aren’t interested in turning the other cheek. Love my enemies? Absolutely not! Most definitely we aren’t going to bless them or pray for them. I think most are more interested in the eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth. However, I want to focus on vs. 41. A Roman soldier could compel a Jew to carry his load for one mile. At the end of this then the obligation was fulfilled and he could go on about his business. Imagine the aggravation this had to cause. Not just the burden of the load, but you are now a mile from whatever it was they might’ve of been doing. Now we find Jesus teaching them to not just go that mile, but go one extra!! If you want to get better at a craft then you have to put in that extra time. If you want a promotion at work then it might require some overtime, or it might require you to just go above and beyond. Most of the times these things are attainable because that extra mile usually isn’t crowded. If we’d put forth that effort into worldly things what about going that extra mile for God? What if we were willing to just do a little extra for the Lord? You find most on the job who just want to do the bare minimum, collect their paycheck, and go in about their lives. It seems to be that way in our Christian walk as well. As long as I say a little prayer, read a verse or two each day, and attend church when I can then most seem very content with that. How much more could we get the Gospel out if we’d just do a little extra? How much of a bigger impact could we make on lives in this world if we just went the extra mile? Jesus didn’t suggest they go an extra 5, or go an entire day. He just said go an extra mile. What if we all just gave a little extra to God. Gave in whatever capacity we could. I don’t think we’d find much opposition because that extra mile isn’t crowded nowadays. Are you willing to go extra for Jesus today?
God bless you today! Bro. Josh Richardson
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