Chances are you need a good pair of boots…Visiting my mid west origins through my boots.

I loved my Red Wing boots.  In the early 1990s I bought another pair of high top Red Wing boots and wore them while working outside for many years.

I still have them in my closet.  They serve as a reminder of good times, bad times, and family.

They remind me of my mid west roots and the Fall of the year.

Chances are you are gonna need a good pair of boots.

Jesus challenges us to go beyond what others expect of us.

In Matthew 5:41 he says; “And whoever compels you to go a mile, go with him two.”

In Jesus day Roman soldiers had the right to order anyone to carry his pack one mike for him.

So the soldier could order you to perform that service. And there is the moment that can change everything.

So Jesus, by saying go the second mile, is saying when you have to do something, try to go above and beyond what you are required as a minimum to do. It totally changes your attitude about what you are doing when you deliberately do MORE than you have to. It makes drudgery into an intentional service on your part.
What is the principle of the second mile? It is to do more than is required or expected of us. Jesus is saying that any pagan or unsaved person can go one mile (5:46,47). The first mile is to love those who love us. The second mile is to love those who do not love us. We must always remember that life is lived on three levels. The hellish level is to return evil for good. The human level is to return good for good and evil for evil. The heavenly level is to return good for evil. The second mile is to return good for evil.

When a Jewish man or boy is carrying the soldier’s backpack for the first mile, he is a slave. However, when he chooses to carry the burden for a second mile, he then takes control of the situation. The character mile moves us from slaves to masters. The first mile is the “have to” mile, but the second mile is the “want to” mile.

It is really the second mile that postures us as believers to gain credibility with the people we live and work with everyday.
Beginning to get the idea?

In this life if we are going to serve beyond the average requirement, chances are you gonna need a good pair of boots.

For example, the Crazy Horse monument is a task which will surpass the team’s lifetime. Like all well-crafted achievements, it will not only live on as a tribute to those it represents, but as a tribute to the perseverance of those who built it.

http://www.redwingshoes.com/red-wing-video-crazy-horse

Also, I love the mid-west imagery in this video from Bon Ivers and Redwing

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/watch_bon_ivers_justin_vernon_sell_red_wing_boots/

Happy serving.

Steve