Making the most of what we have these days means we don’t want to go any farther than we have to.  We look for the quickest, most direct routes, whether that be shortcuts, delay avoidance, direct flights, or express lanes and trains.  We don’t want to waste money, fuel, or time.  Our very nature tells us that going an “extra mile” is not the smart thing to do.

As a unit of measure, the mile dates back to the Roman Empire.  The Latin is “milia passuum,” meaning a thousand paces. The ancient Romans had a thing for engineering.  They used mile markers on roads for the obvious purposes of informing travelers how far they had come or how far they had left to go…but reading between the lines, these markers communicated much more.  They were a constant reminder that Rome was “large and in charge” and that “all roads lead to Rome.”   Imagine being in an occupied zone and having your inferior status steadily thrown in your face by the Romans.

Such was the “mile” mentioned by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. During that time, Roman soldiers could actually require a non-citizen to carry their pack for one mile.  Thus, when Christ said in Matthew 5, “Whoever compels you to go with him one mile, go with him two,” this was a direct reference to the Roman occupying soldiers and the attitude followers of Christ were to have toward their own status in this situation.

In effect, Christ was pointing out that we can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control our attitude (and Jesus certainly led by example here).  Christ calls us to look beyond the next mile marker, beyond the next problem, beyond the next difficult person we encounter.  He calls us to see the bigger picture that His kingdom transcends this world.  His victory is already won; our race must just be run…to completion.  And Jesus calls us to be different…to be living evidence that belonging to and reflecting Him means being like Him—denying our human desires and serving God by serving those around us.

Milestones (whether literal or figurative) aren’t millstones around our necks, dragging us down; rather, they are checkpoints signaling we are getting closer to home, closer to dwelling in His presence, free from earthly pain and sorrow, forever. So said the Apostle Paul:

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
                                                                                                                                                Philippians 3:14