Matthew 5:41: "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." The Revised Standard Version says, "If any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."
In the days of Christ the Roman government gave its officers and soldiers the right to force any citizen into service. If a Roman soldier had heavy packages to carry, he would speak to a Jew and that Jew had to accompany him and carry his packages for a minimum of one mile. The law required it.
Somewhere I read that every Jewish boy who lived in the country marked off a mile in each direction on the road by his house. He drove a peg in the ground so that he would know exactly how far he was required to go. A Roman mile was equivalent to 1,667 yards, or 1,000 paces.
The Jews hoped that Jesus would establish an earthly kingdom and overthrow this Roman domination. But Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, made this shocking statement to His audience: "Whosoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two miles."
The message Jesus conveyed and still conveys says that Christians should be willing to go beyond the call of duty—to go the second mile, if you please, and do more than that which is required or expected. Let me mention three areas in our Christian experience where all of us need to go the second mile.
1. We need to go the second mile in service.
Jesus says in Matthew 20:27 and 28, "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Now a big difference exists between one-mile saints and the two-mile saints. One-mile saints are on the church roll in good and regular standing. They are what we might call respectable church members. These people come to church on a fairly regular basis, enough to be considered members.
One-mile saints come to church just enough to be called Seventh-day Adventists. They do just enough to barely get by. In most cases, one-mile saints will never accept any church office or other responsibility, because they do not want to be tied down. Whenever you ask them to serve, they always say, "I decline." One-mile saints come to church and sit in their favorite seats—"rocking chairs." These rocking-chair Christians want to be fed spiritually, but remain unwilling to participate in any spiritual exercise that involves them in the church's work. They remind us of spectators who go to the airport to observe the planes take off and land, but they never board the planes.
One-mile saints will occasionally help with church work if it doesn't inconvenience them or cause them to go out of their way. Someone has said:
"I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
If I can have first-class accommodations.
I'll be what You want me to be
If it doesn't interfere with my plans.
I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
If I can still be popular with my friends.
And I'll do what You want me to do
If I have time."
I hope we don't have any one-mile saints here in this church.
What about the saints of the second mile? I am happy to report that they are different. They willingly get involved in the work of the church. Even though they are busy, they will go the second mile in service. They keep on working even when they feel tired and weary. They are not dryweather Christians. You don't have to beg them to do the Lord's work. They will gladly do it because they love the Lord with all their hearts. They never consider it an inconvenience to go the second mile in service. They are the ones who invite more and more people to church services and evangelistic meetings.
Second-mile saints will use their cars to do missionary work. They will give Bible studies, distribute literature, and even put extra gas in the tank and drive that extra mile if necessary.
The Man With a Consecrated Car
He couldn't speak before a crowd;
He couldn't teach a class;
But when he came to Sabbath school
He brought the folks "en masse."
He couldn't sing to save his life,
In public couldn't pray,
But always his "jalopy"
Was crammed on each Lord's day.
Although He could not sing,
Nor teach, nor lead in prayer,
He listened well and had a smile
And he was always there
With all the others whom he brought,
Who lived both near and far,
And God's work prospered—for he had A
consecrated car.
—Author Unknown
In Luke 10 we discover that not only does the good Samaritan stop and bind up the unfortunate man's wounds but he sets the man on his own beast and takes him to an inn. Then he pays the hotel bill, advancing money for the man's continued care and telling the hotel manager that if further financial needs should arise, he will be glad to take care of them. This is what it means to go the second mile in service.
2. We need to go the second mile in love.
In John 13:35 we read, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." The one-mile saint stands up and testifies, "I love everybody," but seldom demonstrates this love to anybody. One-mile saints usually love those who pat them on the back and say nice things about them. It's easy to love those who love us. It's easy to love those who give us birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. The Jews felt that God loved only those who served Him and fulfilled the requirements of the rabbis. But this was not true.
Jesus added a new dimension to love. In Matthew 5:43 and 44 Jesus taught that we should go the second mile in love, even to the extent of loving our enemies. In other words, second-mile love enables us to love people even when they talk disparagingly about us, hurt our feelings, or persecute us. This kind of love is possible only when Christ dwells in the heart and causes us to love as He loves.
Second-mile love enables us to love the stranger, the alcoholic, the dope addict, the poor, the handicapped, the person of another race, tribe, or religion, the backslider, the down-and-out.
a. The second-mile saint loves enough to forgive.
Tom and his sister Mary were always arguing, fussing and saying terrible things about each other. After a big argument one day, both of them went upstairs to their rooms.
Mother called Mary downstairs and said to her, "You know, Mary, you ought to forgive Tom for the things he has done to you and said about you."
After thinking about it for a moment, Mary said, "OK, Mom, I will forgive him."
A little later Mom called Tom downstairs and said to him, "You know, Tom, you ought to forgive Mary."
Tom immediately replied, "Oh, Mom, I can't do that. She said some terrible things about me. I just can't forgive her."
Mom said, "Suppose she dies tonight."
Tom said, "I hadn't thought about that. I guess I will forgive her." Tom went up to Mary's room.
Mary said, "Tom, I said some terrible things. I'm sorry; please forgive me."
Tom said, "I'll forgive you because Mama said you might die tonight. But if you don't die tonight,
I just want you to know that I'm going to get you in the morning."
If we want to be forgiven, we must be willing to forgive. Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21: How often shall I forgive my brother, as many as seven times? Jesus answered in verse 22: Forgive him, not just as many as seven times, but up to seventy times seven. We ought to be willing to go the second mile and be unlimited in our forgiveness. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches in Matthew 6:14 and 15 that if we want to be forgiven, we ourselves must be willing to forgive. We must be willing to forgive people who have done us wrong whether they apologize or not. Some people say, "I will forgive you, but I won't forget." This is not forgiveness. We should also be willing to trust people, restore them, and treat them as though they have never made a mistake.
b. The second-mile saint loves enough to care. Too often we are concerned only about ourselves, and show very little or no concern for others. The psalmist David reminds us of this fact in Psalm 142:4, where he says, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."
The second-mile saint cares about the members of the church family, including new members, the inactive and former members, backsliders, and young people. He or she visits and encourages all who need encouragement.
c. The second-mile saint loves enough to share. The Bible says in Luke 14:12-14: "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Second-mile love enables us to widen our circle of love to include all of God's children. Second-mile love suggests that when we have a feast, we do more than just invite our relatives and special friends or those who are able to return the favor. We should reach out also to those who may not be able to return our hospitality—and Jesus will reward us richly.
The Good Samaritan was one of those secondmile saints. He went beyond the call of duty in his service for God and humanity. As good Christians we need to be willing to go the second mile in love.
Second-mile love reaches out to someone to help, to lift, to encourage, even when there is no response.
Second-mile love allows yourself to feel the hurt of a person who has been disappointed and who has had one of life's bad breaks.
Second-mile love stays with a person through the trials of life when others are forsaking him and ridiculing him.
Second-mile love believes the best about a person until the person himself proves otherwise.
Second-mile love trusts others with your friendship.
Second-mile love opens the compassion of your heart to another, regardless of who or what he or she is.
Second-mile love helps someone who is down climb back on top and get on with living.
Second-mile love refuses to count a person out as a friend because he has failed.
Second-mile love applies the ways and teachings of Jesus Christ to all of life's relationships.
3. We need to go the second mile in sacrifice.
I understand that when John Wesley was preaching a sermon one day, the first subtopic of his sermon was "Get All You Can." A deacon sitting near the front of the auditorium responded by saying, "Amen Brother." Wesley moved into the second part of his sermon which was "Save All You Can." The deacon exclaimed, "Amen! You are really preaching." Then John Wesley proceeded with the concluding portion of his sermon, which was "Give All You Can." The deacon then exclaimed in a disappointed tone, "Oh, no! You have stopped preaching and you have gone to meddling."
Psalm 50:5 says, "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." What does it mean to sacrifice? It means to go the second mile in giving. Somebody said that second-mile giving means to give until it hurts, but I submit to you that second-mile giving means to give until it stops hurting.
The story of the widow's mite inspires us all. This very poor woman wanted to do something special for the cause of God, which she loved so dearly.
She looked at the gift in her hand. It looked so small in comparison with what the rich folks were giving. She had less than a penny. Giving it away was a great sacrifice because it was all that she had. What an example for us today!
In reality, God saw in her gift more than all of the combined offerings of the rich, for they represented no sacrifice. The rich people remained one mile saints, but the widow became a two-mile saint.
One-mile saints return their tithe out of a feeling of duty. Sometimes they give a small offering, but they never know the joy of being secondmile sacrificial givers.
In some places one-mile saints have been giving a dollar a week for Sabbath school missions and a dollar for church expense for the past 20 years. Even though they have received many raises in pay, they would never dream of giving God a raise.
One-mile saints give only because of duty, or to keep up with the Joneses, or to keep from being embarrassed. They give just enough to get by when they are capable of giving much more.
A pastor was appealing for liberal financial gifts to assist in the church building program. A man stood and proudly announced, "I'll give $50." This church member wanted everyone to know how much he was giving. Just at that moment, a piece of plaster fell from the ceiling, hitting this proud brother on the head. The man was so embarrassed. He took out his handkerchief, dusted off his head, cleared his throat and said, "Pardon me, folks, I'll make that $100." An elderly church member sitting near the front shouted, "Hit him again, Lord, hit him again!"
Sometimes one-mile saints will wait to be asked or begged to give, even when they know the great needs of God's cause. And when they do give, they expect praise and recognition. They feel hurt and disappointed if their names and the amounts of their gifts do not get publicized. Such are the onemile givers.
But I am so glad that God still has second-mile saints who will not be satisfied until they have made a sacrificial covenant with Him. The secondmile saints don't wait to be begged to give. They give willingly, they give joyfully, because they love Jesus. They find pleasure in providing a Christian education for worthy students or in assisting the handicapped. They enjoy looking after the elderly members of the church who have borne the battle during the heat of the day.
Second-mile saints give without expecting any praise, and without any blowing of trumpets or tooting of horns before the congregation. They give, not to be seen or recognized, but to express their love and gratitude to God for His goodness.
Second-mile givers will even give secretly. In Matthew 6:3 and 4 Jesus emphasizes this principle: "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."
Once upon a time there was an old lady who received a monthly welfare check. She was having a hard time. A certain family discovered her plight and devised a plan to help her. They took her to dinner occasionally and every time they bought groceries they bought an extra supply for her. For years this remained a secret between this family, the old lady, and God. What an example for us today!
Nearly 2,000 years ago Jesus came to this earth. Throughout His ministry He set for us a perfect example by going beyond the call of duty.
He went the second-mile in service. He went about doing good. His life was wrapped up in service to others. He worked chiefly among the poor, needy, sick, and suffering. He visited them in their homes and took an interest in them. He even humbled Himself as a servant and washed His disciples' feet. He always went the second mile, and He didn't have to do it.
He went the second mile in love. He was no respecter of persons. He had no prejudices and worked for all groups of people. He associated with sinners and ate with them. He even loved those who were down-and-out—the social outcasts. He gave His greatest attention to the poor and had His greatest success working among them. He saw no human being as worthless. He demonstrated second-mile love in the way He dealt with Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, and even the thief on the cross. He loved so much that He even forgave His enemies, including His persecutors and murderers.
He went the second mile in sacrifice. He labored often without food. He did not measure His work in hours. He left the richness of heaven and for our sakes laid aside His royalty, came to earth, and became poor. As a man He knew what it was like to be hungry, thirsty, and weary. For three years He became a homeless wanderer, and often slept on the ground during the cold, damp shades of night (as noted in Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 107).
Yes, He went the second mile in sacrifice to the point of being treated cruelly as a criminal. He made sacrifices throughout His ministry, but the greatest sacrifice took place at Calvary. He died, rose, ascended, and is coming back soon to this earth to take us to heaven.
As we willingly and fully surrender to Christ, He enables us to go the second mile. As we travel that second mile, we experience the assurance that when He comes, He will claim us as His own.
W. C. SCALES, JR.
W. C. Scales, Jr., a well-known evangelist, is the ministerial secretary of the North American Division located at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, Maryland.
