The Second Mile

Matthew 5:38-42 (NKJV)

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

In Jesus’ day Roman soldiers would carry their gear to their work station. This could sometimes be a significant journey. A Roman law stated that a soldier could conscript anyone 12 years or older to carry his gear for 1000 paces (a Roman mile, slightly less than our mile). At that point you could set it down and leave.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus advocated that instead of dropping the soldier’s gear at the one-mile point, carry it for him a second mile. In principle that could mean further than a second mile, i.e., to be keen to that soldier’s need and show kindness, even if you were legally conscripted to carry his gear. He may be weary. He may have been injured in the line of duty. And yes, he could simply be a jerk.😊 But your kindness to go above and beyond will speak volumes.

This exemplifies Jesus’ definition of a profitable servant.

Luke 17:7-10

Which of you, who has a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, “Come at once, sit down and eat”? Rather, he [the employer] will tell him, “Prepare something for my supper, gird yourself, serve me till I have finished, and afterward you can eat.” Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? No!. Likewise, when you have done all you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done [only] what was our duty to do.”

Jesus commended someone as profitable who went above and beyond their duty and responsibility, who exceeded expectations and even met a need before it was asked. Whether it be Barnabus who took Paul under his wing when the rest of the churches didn’t trust him, or whether it was David’s three soldiers who broke through enemy lines just to bring him a glass of water from Bethlehem, these people who go the second mile are far more valuable than they realize and are noticed by God.

Second-Mile Character Traits

A second-mile person:

• Is alert to meet the needs of others before they are asked.

• Manages well the expectations of those to whom they are responsible.

• Is proactive in communication.

• Sometimes helps others creatively or subtly, knowing they might be embarrassed to be helped directly.

This doesn’t mean that one simply goes out looking for any random opportunity to offer a second-mile charity. The Bible balances principles of prudence, wisdom and equity. For instance, if someone perceives you are a second-mile person, and it’s easy to tell they would take advantage of that, it may be best to avoid them.

Second-mile opportunities usually present themselves readily and as part of life. Ask God to keep your spirit and will attune to the right moments to give to others the right help, which sometimes can simply be an alert.

The Unjust Steward

Even someone who at one time was unjust can become a second-mile person. In Luke 16 (the parable of the unjust steward) a rich man was on the verge of firing his wasteful steward. Fearful of losing his job, this motivated the steward to kick in gear, take the initiative and become proactive. He summoned debtors and had them pay just what they could. This immediately brought income into his master’s estate, who then commended his steward.

Rags to Spiritual Riches

Perhaps the greatest example in scripture of someone who went from the worst to the best second-mile leader is the Apostle Paul. Other notable comebacks in scripture were Jacob, Zaccheus, John Mark and the Apostle Peter. They all came back from failure and became extraordinary second-mile contributors to God’s kingdom.

Daniel

One of the most notable second-mile heroes in Scripture is Daniel. A young man in captivity, he was recorded as having an “excellent spirit”. His demeanor to those over him was always of the highest caliber. He cared about their objectives. In fact, he loved King Darius, often saluting him with “O king, live forever!” This moved the king to love him as well, crying all night and praying for Daniel after being tricked to throw him in the lion’s den. Daniel’s character and life was one of continual second-mile proacting and support.

Second-Mile Commitments

If you have a burden to be a person above and beyond in God’s kingdom, consider the following:

• The commitment to being a second-mile person usually means opportunities come when it is least convenient. You won’t excel at second-mile achievements and prize leisure greater.

• Avoid the temptation to minimize or forget a need you know in your heart should be done.

• If you see a need that no one else knows about at the moment, and if you know it’s a need you should consider, do what it takes to meet that need. It often takes effort and requires supplying your own resources to meet the need.

• If you are responsible for communicating to someone, don’t wait to be asked. Obviously, don’t over-communicate, but also don’t wait, especially when you are prompted in your conscience.

In Summary

The Second Mile:

• It’s not simply a set of actions and duties. It is an awareness, a sensitivity, a desire to please, a commitment and in time, second nature.

• Second-mile blessings and sub-first-mile disappointments have a magnified effect on those who are in a trial and need it most.

• It’s guaranteed to reap good things for you in the future, not that it’s why you go the second-mile.

A Tale Of Two Lungs

This is a living story. It may lengthen in time, as God helps me to plug in some missing pieces. But this is all to His glory.

My son, Jon David, was born in 1980. He was born with Cystic Fibrosis. By the time he was 31, it had clogged his lungs so bad that they were only 19% functional.

May 2012. Jon had a successful double-lung transplant. His natural lungs lasted over 30 years, but by this time they were functioning at 19%. This is such a short version about what a time of suffering this was, but moreso, what an amazing time this was of God's miraculous deliverance. More details will be added here later.

The remainder of 2012 and first half of 2013 were probably the healthiest two years of Jon's life. He was able to do things he had never done before, such as go to the mountains, participate in health-awareness events, travel and be involved in the lives of people more than ever.

Latter half of 2013. Jon's transplanted lungs began to deteriorate due to rejection and bacteria. By November he was almost back to the condition he had before his first transplant. Jon was admitted to Integris Baptist Hospital, in Oklahoma City, shortly after Thanksgiving 2013. During that time he went in and out of ICU, was under sedation for weeks at a time, and was near death's door several times. But God sustained him.

In early February 2014 Jon was flown via private medevac jet to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, reknown for their transplants, especially for second transplants. He was placed immediately in ICU and put under sedation. Over the next few weeks, his statistics worsened, his kidneys failed, and the doctors were in doubt they would be able to list him in time for re-transplant.

Jon David, while in ICU in Pittsburgh

Thursday, February 20, 2014. Jon's ventilator was at 100% and could help no further. His lungs from the 2012 transplant were dying. Carbon dioxide was building in his blood (normal CO2 is 35; his was way over 100, beyond lethal). The worst news was that Jon's condition was so bad, the transplant team doctors would not accept Jon as a viable candidate.

Nevertheless, God's hand, delivering, sustaining and healing power was there. God's people began to pray that God would turn the hearts of those doctors. And indeed, when God turned their hearts, it was an amazing, total, 180-degree turn. The attitude of the doctors over that very Thursday changed from Jon having no hope to there being no way they were going to let Jon die.

The doctors ordered from Europe a device called a hemolung (it is only approved in Europe and Canada, but Pittsburgh is a trial center). They were told it would arrive Monday.

Friday, February 21. The next day Jon David took a turn for the worse. He was going down fast. The doctors, along with the A-Lung company (who manufacture the hemolung, ironically located right there in Pittsburgh), were frantic. That afternoon, Pete DeComo and Alethea Wieland, CEO and Director from A-Lung (two wonderful people), called Murray Beaton of Novus Medical Inc, in Oakville, Ontario. Amazingly, Murray told them they had two unopened hemolung devices. He agreed to meet them at the border with a team who could hook it up for them. Alethea and Pete left at 5pm, heading for Canada.

Meanwhile, Jon is dying. His lungs are not exchanging CO2. Nurses and doctors are taking turns climbing up on him, pressing down on his lungs to help him exhale, letting the ventilator force air back into him, then pressing down again, over and over, to keep him alive.

Pete and Alethea drove all night from Pittsburgh to the Canada border as fast as they could. Pennsylvania is a leading state in speed limit enforcement. They did not see one policeman. Their route took them around Lake Erie, through Buffalo, New York, and on to Niagara Falls and the Canada border. That area is the snow capital of America. There was not one flake of snow on the ground, only a few snowflakes occasionally in the air.

Saturday, February 22. Pete and Alethea arrived in the wee hours of the night and were met by Murray at the border, as well as a team to help install the device when they returned. Canadian border clearance was a miracle in itself. Once cleared they sped back to Pittsburgh with two hemolung devices, followed by the technical team. They arrived back in Pittsburgh Saturday morning around 9am.

A view of Jon's ICU room, the hemolung on the left and dialysis machine on the right, all running continually

The technicians immediately went to work hooking it up. By 10am they were able to begin running Jon's blood through it, and within 3-4 hours, his CO2 went down from 130 to 80.

God used all of these people and circumstances to save Jon David. This weekend was nothing short of a succession of miracles and deliverance. Because of His great intervention, that hemolung kept Jon David alive. To God be the glory forever.



Jon & Sallie, taken Sat, June 6, 2014

Selfie taken by Jon on Sat, July 12, 2014.

God has kept Jon from destruction so many times. He has delivered him immediately from acute attacks and has sustained him long-term. Once Jon's right lung collapsed partially, and that took him downhill fast. Again, God's people prayed. By the next morning all traces of the problem had disappeared.



June 2014. Jon has been in the hospital over 6 months. It has taken its toll both on him and on Sallie. The eyes in this picture tell the story of a young couple's suffering over a long time.

But, it also testifies of gratitude to so many people who unselfishly gave their all. Moreover, it glorifies a wonderful God Who touched, delivered and kept Jon in the palm of His hand, sustaining him when he didn't know from moment to moment if he would make it. God's unfathomable love and kindness surpass all understanding.

Our hearts are full with thanks

Lord, You are more
Than all this world to me.
The dearest Friend
That I have ever known.
And it will take
The whole eternity
To thank You for
The love that You have shown.

Post-edit: Jon was discharged from UPMC on Saturday, June 27. He is still in Pittsburgh doing clinicals until his anti-rejection meds are balanced. He is on dialysis for kidney issues and returned to the hospital for a few acute issues, but all in all is doing well. He returns home August 23. We are so grateful to UPMC, Dr. Bermudez, all the doctors and staff there, the amazing A-Lung family, some wonderful Canadians, and to our beautiful God Who orchestrated, intervened and delivered Jon so many times. One of the doctors told Jon, "Your God does many thing for you in mysterious ways."

Jon left Pittsburgh Saturday, Aug 23rd and arrived home in Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday, Aug 25th. It was so nice to see him for a little while as they passed through Tulsa. His kidneys took a bit of a hit, so he is on dialysis. But he is doing well and looks good. Thank you, Jesus.

Some additional links:

• List of news video articles from 2014 regarding Jon's transplant.
• Jon's one-year "lungaversary" (March 14, 2015).
• Further updates, available on my Google Plus.

Day 1 - Genesis 1:1-5 - "Let there be Light!"

Light is the product of innumerable protons hitting some surface and reflecting what is not absorbed. As the standard model of particle physics would put it, photons are described as a "necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime" (Wiki photon).

For light to be possible, space-time, with all its physical and dimensional laws, must exist. This means that God created the atoms and their infinite divisions that we have only touched the surface in discovering.

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
  The earth was [not became] without form and void;
  and darkness was on the face of the deep. (Genesis 1:1-2a)

Consider that God began day 1 with absolutely nothing. No time, no space, no mass, no atoms; an absolute, complete nothing. There was only GOD! Nothing else.

Then God creates the heavens and the earth. But not light!

Yet!

God's Word gives us a small but privileged glimpse in Gen 1:2 of His creating and initializing of physical laws and realities, as He molds a formless earth by His Spirit into cohesion. Once all His physical laws are in place, God Who is perfect in truth, order and principle, says, "Let there be light!!"

It is overwhelming to attempt to fathom the foundation God laid for that to happen.

Do You Even Like Jesus?

Remember when Jesus fixed breakfast for His disciples after His resurrection?

This was His third appearance to them, and it is recorded in the last chapter of the Gospel of John (21:14-17).

Jesus asked Peter three times, "Lovest thou Me?", and after Peter answers, "Yes, Lord," He instructs him to "feed My sheep."

There are a number of different Greek words for love. Two of them are used in this passage:

• Agape - the love of God.
• Phileo - familial love, affection, fondness.

When Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love Me," He used agape. However, Peter responded with phileo.

In today's lingo, Peter's answer would have conveyed, "Yes, Lord, You know that I like You."

Jesus answered, "Feed My sheep." Then He asked Peter again, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love (agape) Me?" Peter answered again, "Yes, Lord, You know that I like (phileo) You."

Jesus repeated, "Feed My sheep."

However, the third time Jesus shifted gears. He did not use agape, but instead replaced it with phileo, which Peter had been using. Perhaps you have heard it taught or preached that Jesus' repetition is what finally irritated Peter. Not quite! What upset Peter was when Jesus lowered the definition of "love" from agape to phileo, Peter understood the warranted patronage: "Simon, son of Jonas, do you even like (phileo) Me?"

What word for "love" do you think Peter used in his final response to Jesus? Peter stayed true to form and answered within his means, "Lord, You know all things. You know that I like (phileo) You."

Until His disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost, they did not use the word agape. Once the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Day of Pentecost in the 2nd chapter of Acts, the apostles appreciated and used agape freely. Paul summed it up well when he said, "the love (agape) of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." (Rom 5:5) Having God's Spirit in us opens a realm of love that can never otherwise be known.

And yet, I still find myself both wanting to love Him, be like Him and to truly like (phileo) Him, i.e., to really like what Jesus is all about and stands for, to set my affections, my fondness, my liking and my pattern on His ways.

Friendship with (liking) this world is enmity with (a sure sign that you don't like) God.

I want to love Him and like Him.

Sackerisms And Other Non-Plagiarisms

I like it that the KJV team had a king and a guillotine telling them their deadline. As much bias as there is in human nature, they didn't have the luxury of time to go too far off into subjective tangents, like the NIV and other translations.

"SELF" is a four-letter word that starts with "S". Nuff said.

I'm just an old geezer with high standards for everyone else.

The devil stokes bitterness with facts.

Interesting thing about trials: You never go back, you're never the same, and life will never be the same.

One of the most devastating side-effects of the heresy of evolution is the tendency for humanity to also think in terms of spiritual evolution. It's ridiculous enough that so many think mankind came from amoeba-like lifeforms, evolving to small creature lifeforms, to bigger creatures, to ape-like creatures, and so forth, to man. Worse, is that they think their spiritual being will continually evolve in enlightenment and power by its own innate developing abilities, and that, in fact, it is sufficient enough that they don't need any help from any Supreme Being, thank you. Indeed, this is a strong delusion.

There really is no such thing as "practice" in God's kingdom. What we call practice is an exercise of faith through a real situation that God allows. You never "practice" refining precious metals. You never "practice" growing. Even the idea of "practicing" faith signifies that you "live" faith, that you exercise faith in real time.

Except for Joseph telling his descendants to take his bones with them when they left Egypt, all of the "heroes of faith" in Hebrews 11, by faith went into action rather than said something.

No matter how hurt you have been, how lonely you are or how angry you get, there is never a reason to do the wrong thing or forsake consecration. Being good is not a substitute for being consecrated. Never having backslid or failed God miserably is no justification for anything less than total consecration. The rich young ruler who approached Jesus, and who had an impeccable and unblemished record of upright behavior, could not levy any of that against his unwillingness to completely sell out to God and to separation from materialism.

I plan never to retire ... only to transition.

Before using the "iron sharpens iron" principle on a friend, make sure they're not jelly and offend easily. If they bond to peanut butter, they're not iron. If they bond to clay, they're not iron. Sadly, the easily offended quit before they break into an awesome camaraderie with a friend. Go ye, and learn what this meaneth.

Woe of the fat man: When the gluttonous spirit hath gone out of a man, it walketh through dry buffets, seeking Krispy Kremes. Finding none, it saith, "I will return to my discouraged, ungry* stomach from whence I came out." And when he returneth, he findeth it colon-cleansed and garnished with leaf vegetables and edamame. Then he goeth and brings seven other piglets fatter than himself, and they enter in and enlarge there: and the last weight of that man is worse than the first. - Luke 11:24-26 DSV (Dietary Standard Version - or - David Sacker Version - you choose)

I have a theological issue with Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham: Because thou art green, and neither fried nor scrambled, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

If the most intelligent man in the world misses heaven, how stupid was that!?!

* In umble honor.