Extra Mile part 3
Do what you can do, where you're at, affecting who you're with. In a nutshell that's what it means to go the extra mile. It's not about overreaching or overextending. It's not about being someone you're not or doing something you can't. It's about being you and doing what you're capable of. Now, having said that there's a sign in my mom's living room that says, "If we did all the things we were capable of we would truly astonish ourselves." I think this whole idea of an "extra" mile is a little misleading. And we saw that what Jesus was strictly speaking of was using someone taking advantage of you as an opportunity to serve. But I think our arbitrary "stopping point" should be 100%. We shouldn't have this idea of doing just barely enough. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, right? The beginning and the end. And that means we should start with love and end with love. And the greatest love you can have is to lay your life down for your friends. To give everything you have and everything you are in service to others. A life lived in service is a life well lived. That's a life WORTH living. So when we think of going the extra mile, perhaps we should think of that as our starting point. Instead of, "Well, I guess I did pretty good... but I could have given it a little extra," why don't we just start with maximum effort? Instead of having a low standard and then once in a while exceeding it, why don't we just go full power from jump street? And, listen, some things aren't worth your three t's (time, talent, treasure). But people are. People are worth it. I've said this many times: I believe there are only two TRULY important things in the universe--God and people. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. And this is only possible because He first loved us. It's not love as we sometimes think of it (I'll scratch your back so that you'll scratch mine). It's agape love. Sacrificial love. It's--again--laying your life down. Not giving in order to get something, but giving because you have something worth sharing. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So now we are equipped and empowered to live out of abundance. We are blessed to be a blessing. Not doing what we can't--trying, and failing and reaping only frustration and failure--but simply doing what we can. If you have two coats, and you see someone without one... share the wealth. Bless others with what you have been blessed with. See a need... and meet it. That's the extra mile. And that's what people DON'T expect you to do. I think people are afraid to ask for help, and to me that's tragic. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom. Nobody can do it all on their own. We're all in this together. Connected. Different parts of the same body. Connected... by love. Love is the glue that holds everything together. Love is where we end, but it's also where we start. And it's ALSO everything in between. It's what allows us to go the "extra" mile, and what makes us WANT to go the "extra" mile in the first place. Philippians 2:13 says it like this, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." HE puts the want to in you, and the power to do what you (He) wants to do! It comes from God. It comes from the heart. We love because He first loved us. Jesus went all the way and finished the work. Now we can truly live by loving!