Daily Light - May 31, 2011

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."

Matthew 5:41

When I began running on a regular basis a couple of years ago, I found it to be quite difficult. I was reminded of those early days while on my morning run yesterday. Quite a while ago I set up some markers on the road so that I knew how far I was running. I passed one of those markers yesterday and thought back to the first time that I reached that mark. You would have thought that I had finished a marathon in record time back then. I was so excited, because I had completed an amount of mileage that I never thought possible. On a daily basis now I run past that mark and never give it another moment's thought. My eyes are on a mark that is way beyond that one now.

Jesus is teaching His disciples about what it means to forgive others and serve them at the same time. Those are two areas that all of us struggle with. For some, forgiveness is an ugly word, because that very word makes them think of someone that they find it impossible to forgive. The offense that has been committed against them is too great. How could Jesus expect us to forgive that person, but even more astounding He also wants us to serve that person on top of it all? Obviously, from this passage Jesus knows very well that to live this type of life is not natural or normal for man. We cannot find it in ourselves to stoop to this level. It is like that mark that seemed so far away that to run there without stopping felt impossible.

God is calling all of us to push ourselves beyond our natural boundaries. It is beyond our selves that we are completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit. As long as we are only doing what we think is possible, we are in control of our lives. It is when we pass the mark of our own power that we come into the realm of knowing God's power and seeing how He can work through us. Serving others, especially those who are difficult to serve, is going to take a power that you do not have in yourself. We may walk the first mile with them grudgingly, but when we start living like Christ, we find that the second mile is service not simply to them but to our Lord.

May you walk two miles for Christ today!