The Second Mile

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Matthew 5:41
Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ words about turning the other cheek, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” but a command of equal importance given within the same teaching of Jesus’ is often overlooked especially in today’s ‘it’s all about me’ society. Jesus says that if asked to go a mile for someone we should not only go that mile but gladly and willingly go a second. How much more should we be glad, should we be willing when it is Jesus himself doing the asking?

History is filled with second-mile saints, followers of Christ who gave up everything for their savior. One such saint who has greatly influenced my walk with the Lord is a woman missionary named Isobel Kuhn. The funny thing is she never would’ve considered herself one of these second-milers. In fact she wrote a whole book about all the second-mile saints who had influenced her.

As I read about these second-mile saints, the sacrifices they made, yet counted as gain, the pure love they had for the savior, my hearts desire is to be one myself. As I seek the Lord’s leading in my life and choose daily to honor Him, I pray that He will enable to go that second mile at the faintest whisper of His voice.

There are promises in God’s word that enable us, His saints, by faith, to go that second-mile. Mark 8:34-37 says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” And Mark 10:27-31 says, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’ Peter said to him, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Sometimes I found myself thinking, “Look what I’ve done for Jesus, He called me and I obeyed...” but what about when He calls me to give up a little bit more, to trust Him with a little more, to take a bigger step of faith, to go a second mile. Its easy to go one mile for someone, it takes sacrifice to go a second. In the end our perspective will be the key, how do I view God? Do I believe His promises? Do I believe that my life is in His hands? Do I believe that He is good, that He is love? When I have a right perspective of God, of His character and His purposes in this world, I am able to go a second mile. When I am focused on self, I see only limitations.

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we ought to do it for one another, this is love.As we seek to be a second-mile generation for Christ the possibilities are endless. What He can do with a willing heart is beyond our imagination. My prayer is that we will be this generation. That we will lay down our lives for the gospel of Jesus Christ, by which we have been saved.