The Next 15 Minutes: The Extra Mile
Growing up all I wanted to be was a wide receiver for the University of Alabama. Too many Saturdays to count were spent in the backyard with my QB1, Ben Hayes slinging as many touchdowns as his arm could throw. The one guy that I admired the most growing up was San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice. I still believe Jerry Rice to be the greatest football player of all time. He won several Super Bowls with the Niners and went onto play for several teams. He just seemed to glide on the field and made it look so easy. Then throw in that it seemed as though he never dropped a pass.
I will say as I’ve grown older the things I thought were great as kid seem to fade in their greatness. I mean have you watched “Knight Rider” lately? Jerry Rice’s greatness has not faded in my mind, in fact the more I learn about him, the more I admire him. You see of all the accolades that I could list, the first thing that most of his former teammates mention about Jerry is his work ethic. It is reported that every time Jerry touched the ball in practice he would run it the length of the field across the Goal-line. As a coach I usually require my guys to catch the ball and sprint at least 5 yards. Can you imagine the impact that had to have on the rest of the team. A great example of going the “extra mile”.
Of course the greatest example of going the “extra mile” is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the epitome of “talking the talk and walking the walk”. You see, no one understands the power of habit better than the one who created us. Jesus knew if the Jews and eventually Christians could bring themselves to give their oppressors the extra mile then how could they not treat their brothers and sisters even better. The extra mile mentality through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit is to become our default. The minimum requirement is to deem others more highly than yourself. That attitude in of itself will make us different from the world that surrounds us. For the next 15 minutes go the extra mile for someone by helping them lighten their load.
Travis