Go the second mile

Do you have a second-mile mentality? Jesus himself expressed this type of mental power when he said, “If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles (Matthew 5:41).”

It’s a principle every Christian needs to get pounding in their heart so they can love and serve others well to benefit from our following Wonderfully Weird Command: Go the second mile.

Before being a Christian, I was taught in the military the cliché or slogan “Go the extra mile.” During this time, the tagline was about winning battles at any cost. It was also about having a perspective to destroy anything in the way for the sake of victory. It was a competitive mindset, and guilt and shame were the outcomes when you failed to go the extra distance. After nearly 21 years in the military, this dysfunctional war cry became my downfall of what it truly means to go the second mile.

It’s the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave the true meaning of what it means to “go the second mile.” Going the extra distance for the Christ-follower is putting forth the extra effort to show God’s love for all people, even those who hate them.

It’s one thing to be an expression of God’s love with those you love; however, it’s altogether different to love those who pretty much hate everything in life. This type of love is what Jesus taught and demonstrated throughout his entire life.

Jesus, like most, went the first mile by loving his family and friends; however, unlike most, he went the extra, extreme mile by loving those who hated him.

This type of love is experienced when someone drives nails in your life and impales a spear in your side, practically or spiritually speaking.

What about you?

How would you evaluate your love for people? Would you die for those who love you as well as those who harm and hate you? Do you only love the world’s way and love those who love you? What about going to the extreme and loving the second mile?

The extra mile is as we see Jesus doing in his life ministry. Accepting Jesus means to love the lovable and unlovable to the point of death. It’s both in the appreciation and humiliation of life we are required to love fully. It’s one thing to love those who love, but, again, it is the second mile that allows you to love those who throw spiritual grenades at you and gore you with gossip, slander, and hate.

Again, what about you? Today, won’t you go the extra mile in the faith and choose to love the way Jesus commanded? Go the first mile by loving those who love you, and go the second mile and love those who hate you, as well.

If you do, God promises, with this mental power, and relying on him more – we will find love and “rest for our souls.”

With love, Pastor Drake.