If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Matthew 5:41
How far do you think generosity should really go?
Scott was just about done with his roommate. Dirty laundry on the floor, unwashed dishes stacked high, and borrowed money never paid back. Sound familiar? Most of us have people in our lives who push the limits of our patience and kindness. It’s good to set healthy boundaries—to clearly and respectfully say what we will and won’t accept, so that we can protect our time, our energy, and our well-being.
But Jesus spoke about treating others with radical generosity. In His day, Roman soldiers could legally force ordinary people to carry their military packs for one mile. It was a humiliating law. Yet Jesus shocked His listeners by saying, “If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles” (Matthew 5:41). In other words: Don’t just go one mile. Offer to go two. It was a command that sounded outrageous both then and now.
Why? Because it feels impossible. When Scott did his roommate’s dishes for the ninth time, it didn’t make him feel generous—it made him furious. But, as one writer put it: “God [doesn’t] ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us—He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace.”[1]
In other words, this kind of love requires Jesus—His patience when yours is gone, His kindness when yours runs out. Yes, Scott had to have an honest conversation with his roommate. But to keep forgiving, to keep choosing generosity even when it’s undeserved? For that, we need Jesus. Where do you need Jesus’s kindness at work in your heart today?
[1] Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1935, 46.
