The Extra Mile

Beloved People of God,

I remember like it was yesterday how long it took me to read through the whole Bible. I must have read the New Testament through a few times, but after the amazing stories of Genesis and the adventures times of Exodus, I, like many, got lost in the slog of Leviticus! Finally, I made it through, only to find myself surrounded by some sort of never-ending census in the book of Numbers! Would relief ever come!?

One such lifeline that kept me going on my way back into the action-packed story of God’s people was Numbers 35. The heading in my student study Bible stood in bold letters: Cities of Refuge. In a time where people exercised vengeance and meted out justice on their own, here were Levite cities scattered among the tribes of Israel, dedicated to being harbors of refuge against the violence of retribution.

Like most kids my age, I’d seen my fair share of vigilante justice movies, from the classic cowboy films to Batman the caped crusader. But here, on the page before me, was a vision of something different. It put justice back into the hands of God. 

Envisioning these cities of refuge, Jesus' addressing of our human forms of justice took on all kinds of deeper meaning. The same God who called His people to establish refuge for others calls us to endure the imperfection of humanity as we strive to be conformed to the perfection of our heavenly Father (Matthew 5.48). He calls us to endure the insulting slaps of others without slapping back. He calls us to carry the burdens of others further and farther than we are forced to. He calls us to love and intercede for those who make our lives miserable (Matthew 5.39-45).

Here in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in the context of pain and persecution, vengeance and retribution, Jesus speaks the only word that shows us the way back to God our refuge in troubled times: Love. Today, may others know we are Christians by our love (John 13.35).

For His Name’s Sake,

Brett