Going the Second-Mile

Read Matthew 5:38-42

Matthew 5:41
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

I read a book called “Second-mile People” by Isobel Kuhn when I was a youth. I told God and promised myself that I would practice the second-mile principle as I journey in this life with Christ. It is one of the hard sayings of Jesus and it is tough (still is) putting the saying into practice.

The second-mile principle is that of a non-violence response to being taking advantage of. It is looking violence and injustice in its ugly face and then choosing to turn the other cheek. It is standing up to injustice by choosing to love the person instead of retaliating against the sinful act.

It is easy to forgive and love a non-Christian for sinful acts done against us. But what if the person violating us is a Christian? Worse still, what if he or she is a person whom we trust? It is as what Julius Caesar would say to Marcus Brutus’ betrayal, “Even you, Brutus” (Shakespeare’s play).

There may be many days when we hear God’s call to go the extra mile for someone who hates or does not appreciate us. It will be tiring, stressful and sad. The feeling of unfairness will play its course in our minds. The feeling that God is harsh on us and too lenient on the offender will scream at us. Sometimes the feeling overwhelms us to the point where we feel that we are abandoned by God. We may then protest that we have been played the fool – and all for nothing.

In times like these, we remember the Cross. We remember our Lord Jesus. We played Him. He was the fool to have gone the second mile for us. He was ripped off and abandoned, laughed at and suffered for us, the ingrates. But He chose to do it – He decided to go God’s way and He was strong because of that choice.

Choosing to not just forgive, but forget and choosing to love again the sinner is our choice. We may feel cornered by God without a choice but it is not true. We choose it and by our choice, we display God’s strength and it reveals our identity as followers of the Cross.