Going the extra mile

There was a law in the Roman Empire that said boys in the villages had to carry a soldiers pack one mile from their home. So of course smart boys would run out and measure exactly one mile away from their house in both directions and mark it. They had boyish things to do and didn't want to carry that pack any more then they had to. Basically they were willing to fulfill the letter of the law but go no further.

For me finding this out enhanced Jesus' sermon on the Mount.
In Matthew 5:42 he says "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."
This principle that we always hear about is truly something to be applied in marriage. What sounds so simple though, can sometimes be the most difficult to apply.
We all walk the first mile in our marriages. Husbands take out the trash, tuck the kids in.
The wife cooks dinner, and folds the laundry.
When we go the extra mile we take these boring, everyday tasks and do them with a cheerful heart and as unto the Lord.

Self confession time!
I remember the first year my dear husband and I were married.
I got home from my job and proceeded to make dinner. I rattled around pots and pans and fussed, as I prepared the meal. Dave came in and tried to give me a hug, I gave a small squeeze, turned around and said "Yep, let me just make dinner here Babe" he stood back and said "Mel, if I wanted just a dinner I could make it myself" We looked at each other, and I left the dinner cooking on the stove. We sat down together ( I apologized) and we spent some time just talking.

I had not gone the extra mile with my husband. True, I was obeying the letter of the law and making him dinner. But, my cheerful heart was somewhere in the next county :)

So today I would just like to encourage us all to remember to go the extra mile in our marriage and do our jobs with cheerful hearts. It is up to us to make our homes welcoming and a refuge for our husbands from the outside world.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
Proverbs 15:30