Day 6: The extra mile
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles (Matthew 5:41).
Heavenly Father, Scripture teaches us that in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form... (Colossians 2:9). You accredited Him during His earthly ministry (Acts 2:22), and attested to His identity, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).
His authority was unmistakable: the crowds were amazed at His teaching, for He taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law (Matthew 7:28-29 - NLT). And His message of the Kingdom of God was unlike any teaching before or since. It drew, and continues to draw, and amaze, and attract.
With our earthly, humanly-conditioned minds we cannot live, or even grasp the mindsets, the attitudes, and the behaviors our Lord Jesus taught. We are content and comfortable with "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Leviticus 24:19-22). How could we begin to live out these new, radical, principles:
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles (Matthew 5:41).
If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them (Luke 6:29).
Our primary concern is being taken advantage of—being mistreated, being "walked all over." We are so aware of the dangers surrounding us as we navigate a world full of treachery and evil. So in fear we cling to our leanings towards withholding, guarding, defending, confining.
But the Lord of all, who knows every detail of the human heart, demonstrated through His entire earthly mission, fearless, lavish, love—inviting, reaching, drawing, embracing, valuing.
He demonstrated the perfect balance of openness and reserve, innocence and shrewdness, prudence and risk.
And then in a garden called Gethsemane He showed us the power in humility, the authority in restraint, the mastery in meekness, the strength in surrender. And finally He walked the extra mile to Golgotha, and offered His cheek, His coat, His shirt, His life.
Father, You know our struggles to reconcile our natural leanings and inclinations to what You teach us about Your kingdom. But the Lord Jesus, in making clear the radical difference between the kingdom of God and the "rules" of the world, points out the truth about living in the status quo:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full (Luke 6:32-34).
O Lord, help us to look at life through the lenses of Your kingdom and Your glory—to process through the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the mind of Christ: When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted himself to Him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).
Jesus had complete trust and confidence in His Father. A Father He knows. A Father He loves. Help us to know You like that. To love You like that.
Comments