A Christian co-worker had a wreck. Somebody hit her from behind. The guy that hit her pleaded for her to let him fix it without turning it into the insurance. He had his own shop, he said. He could fix it, he said. She agreed, and left her car by the road. He would send a truck to pick it up, he said. He wrote his contact information on a notepad.
I went to pick her up, and as we left her crumpled car sitting by the side of the road, she told me the story. I felt like I should let him fix it, she said. Other people have done that sort of thing for me, so it was my turn, she said. If you felt like that is what you should do, then it was probably the right thing to do, I said. As we left her car in the rear view mirror, I thought it might be the last time we would see it.
When we got back to the office, the story spread. I think some were taking bets on whether or not she would ever see her car again. Today we found out. She picked up her car. It was fixed in less than a week. The guy even made some repairs to damage on the front, which he didn’t cause.
If someone asks you to go a mile, go two, He said . . . and she did.
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And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven . . .
– Mathew 5:41 . . .
3 Responses to “A Mile or Two”
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Dad, THIS is one for the book.
I’m inspired by your co-worker who had the courage to hear and obey the Lord. These days, both Christians and non Christians will say to watch your back, but sometimes we are called to trust people despite the fact that such trust can be uncomfortable. Fear of looking the fool and the worry that comes with leaving ourselves unguarded makes it scary being a sheep among wolves and difficult to be both as shrewd as snakes AND as innocent as doves. Thank God we have the Holy Spirit to watch our backs.
Jac and Kerry, yall bring up some good points. I don’t think I would have done what she did. Too proud of being made a fool, too busy protecting “my rights”, not willing to risk it for the fruit.
Trusting may surely be like hanging out on a limb, but heh, that’s where the fruit is. I just ate a juicy orange. Juicy fruit is worth the risk of limb hanging even if we sometimes get sawed off, it’s a great way to live life to the full. (I’m glad Jesus hung Himself out there on the limb, risking his all for me!)