The Extra Mile

While I was in seminary, I found an opportunity to go the extra mile.  I got to go down to the inner city of Philadelphia to witness and preach at the oldest rescue mission in that city, the Sunday Breakfast Mission.  I only went there one Wednesday a month, but it was an opportunity that helped me learn to communicate the gospel one on one with very needy people and an opportunity to preach God’s word.  Before I graduated, I tried to pass this opportunity on to someone else in the church.  After all the experiences I had there, and in a church of over 1,000 people, I thought it would be easy to find someone else who would want to go the extra mile and participate in this ministry.  But, after talking to numerous people and enlisting the help of the outreach pastor, my search came up empty.  People just were not interested in going that extra mile to the rescue mission.  That was almost 20 years ago now.

Just last week, we took a teen group to Utah on a mission trip to pass out tracts and invitations to a new church.  We delivered over a 1,000 flyers door to door and had a great time participating with the new church.  As I shared this experience, both before and after our trip, I was surprised by a response that I got on more than one occasion.  It went something like this, “there is plenty of need right here, why go to Utah?”  This adverse response reminded me of what I encountered in our church outside Philadelphia.  Many people do not see a need to go the extra mile.

Yes, there is that first mile that we must encounter.  The first mile includes maintaining our personal relationship with Jesus and participating in local gospel ministries in our own home, church, and community.  We must be faithful to go that first mile.  And only when we are faithful in that first mile will we be blessed to find opportunities to go the extra mile.  My observation from the memories above and from other experiences is that many Christians see very little need to go the extra mile.  Why is this?  Is it because they are so faithful in their first?  Unfortunately, it is probably quite the opposite.  We will not be blessed to encounter the challenges of the second mile until we take up the first.

 “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”  Matthew 5:41

God is compelling us to go that first mile with Him.  Go with Him two!