After the story of Grace and Christopher Weise, the issue of “going the extra mile” stood out very clearly in my mind as what I should discuss next. Then I prepared to write. I wondered what Google might have to say about that phrase. So I read 76 quotes about it and was disappointed. There were always reasons given as to why it is good to go that extra mile. All of the reasons were purely selfish—to make yourself irreplaceable at work, to be viewed as successful, to be rewarded, to stand out from the crowd, to be all you are meant to be, etc. Surely those aren’t “extra miles” but just selfish enhancements for going the first, for performing the perfunctory obligations of life.

I know none of these reasons are what motivated Grace and Christopher. Grace said it initially when she said “we fell in love with the children.” Christopher said he made the commitment to care for Judy’s children because God was asking and assuring him that He would provide the means and wherewithal. Our human gut reaction is to never go the second mile. The second mile is uncomfortably difficult and beyond reason. It will infringe on our lives to the very level of stealing our lives away. There isn’t anything in it for us—and we are often labeled by the world as crazy. Few people try; too few Christians offer to go.

The phrase originated in the Bible. Jesus spoke it. It was part of His great Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:41). In context, He is speaking about retaliation, not fighting back. “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you,” (Matthew 5:39-42).

Immediately after this, Jesus launches into loving our enemies. He confirms that hating our enemies is our usual reaction. He points out: “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?...And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?” (Matthew 5:46-47).

“But I say to you,” Jesus instructs, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).  Even God has a common grace that He gives to both those who are evil and those who are good. He makes no distinction between those who receive good weather (blessings) and stormy weather (trials).

We must make no distinction between going the distance for our friends or our enemies. Notice, He is not saying we shouldn’t go the second mile for our loved ones, He is just saying we should go it for both friends and enemies. Then He moves on to discuss helping the needy, tying this section into the last. The object is to love in the same way that we have been loved by Him, and all that it entails. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

Christ Himself perfectly embodies all of these commands. Obedient thoroughly and completely, He left the presence of His Father and His heavenly home to live among sinners and evil—far more than a second mile. But then, the ultimate sacrifice of bearing the sin of all believers and paying the penalty for them by His death. Surely this is beyond any sort of mileage measurement. This was accomplished because of His love for us and His desire to share His glory with us. Utterly beyond our comprehension.

In returning our love for Him, going beyond what is called for is the least we can do. We should be going out of our way to look for opportunities to serve in sacrificial ways, not only to people we know and like, but to those we do not know or like so much. This is the example Christ set for us. This is what He told us to do. However, our attitude going in makes all the difference. If our hearts are not in it for the right reasons, our good deeds mean nothing.

First, Jesus put Himself in our place. He got in the way of the condemnation we deserve and took it on Himself. He, Who is God. We are told to put ourselves in the place of others, to treat them as we want to be treated, not considering whether or not they deserve good treatment. Unless we see and are grateful for the undeserved grace we have been shown, it becomes futile to show grace to others. The well of grace that should spring up in our souls is gratitude to Jesus. We are able to give because we have received. In receiving, we understand what we must do now—how we must live now.

As Paul points out in Romans, our lives must now be spent as “living sacrifice[s], holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). Jesus illustrated this in a parable about The Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37).  The intent of the story was to tell how one can inherit eternal life. The answer was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (v. 27). In the story, a good Jewish man was travelling along a road when thieves overtook him, beat him, robbed him, and left him for dead along the side of the road. Several “good” types of people, even charitable and neighborly types including a priest and a Levite, passed by crossing to the other side of the road to avoid the wounded man.

But then an enemy of the Jews passed by and had compassion. He not only tended to the wounds but took him to shelter and paid for his care until the man was well. This man had gone the second mile as Jesus’ listeners acknowledged. What Jesus said next is meant for all of us who profess to love God with all our hearts: “You go, and do likewise.”

I once heard a story about a husband and wife who divorced because of the husband’s adultery. He moved out of the country and married the “other” woman. Together they had a child, but soon after the husband was given a terminal cancer diagnosis. Knowing that his current wife would not be able to survive in her native homeland with their child, he called on his ex-wife back in the States to take her in with the inheritance he would leave. The wife agreed and lovingly did just that.

That story has always amazed me. And I have continued to hear of similar situations, like vets leaving behind girlfriends and children in war-torn countries that are later taken in and/or supported by the vets and their wives. In a story last year in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/fashion/thursdaystyles/when-an-exspouse-returns-as-caregiver.html), the author writes that it is becoming more common for ex-wives to come to the aid of their unmarried ex-husbands when they become terminally ill. One such ex-wife is quoted in the article as saying, "When you see someone you have lived with, and you are so angry with them, you have to come to terms with yourself and get rid of the bitterness," Ms. Hayes said. "Not for their sake, but for your own." This is exactly what Jesus was telling us, but for His sake.

There are stories of victims of crime compassionately reaching out to their perpetrators and going so far as to help them and their families. There are numerous stories of strangers helping strangers in horrific situations. Natural disasters, traffic accidents, fires, and events such as 9/11 inspire Good Samaritans to take action. Missionaries and workers in charitable organizations do as well. They are Good Samaritans and their selfless work attracts volunteers to help. As a Director of Pregnancy Resource Centers, I had the privilege of meeting, hiring, and training dozens of volunteers who were eager to go the extra mile with our clients. Many of us in these ministries had our own stories of unplanned pregnancies that spurred us to action in sharing our forgiveness and redemption in showing Christ’s love to those in the same situation we had been in.

Not going the second mile is sin. It is in direct disobedience to how Jesus instructed us to live. Ann Voskamp writes: “If I am moved but choose not to respond, won’t I soon harden, unable to respond? When we are touched, we must reach out or soon we stiffen and nothing touches us and we feel nothing….How will this planet change if God’s people do not become its change?”

It’s hard to miss the glory of God in those going the extra distance in others’ lives. The goodness of God comes through loud and clear. Because we instinctively know that such actions originate from His Spirit that resides in those people and not from any human natures. Though we move forward in going the extra distance because of our love for God, be assured that He has promised abundant blessings to those who give from the abundance of their hearts (Proverbs 11:25).

“God can enter into me, even me, and use these hands, these feet, [this life], to be His love, a love that goes on and on and on forever, endless cycle of grace” (Ann Voskamp). “Do all you do for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Always. And your joy will be complete! (John 1:4)