Clarence told me that if I ever wanted to, I could
hi-jack his blog and write something, so here we go. Let me tell you about my “AND THEN SOME”
wristband.
This past summer one of the messages at church was from
Matthew 5:38-48. Here’s a short excerpt
from that passage:
. . . .
and if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat
also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him
who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You
have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you in
order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven . . .
.
The focus of the message that morning was that as Christ
followers, we should be willing to do what was required of us “AND THEN
SOME”. How very true that God wants us
to act beyond the expected and let Him shine through us as we go the extra mile
for someone else.
A few weeks ago after the church service, we all
received wristbands with “Matt 5:41 AND THEN SOME” printed on them. It was to be a reminder to us, as a church
family, to be known as someone (and as a church) who would go that extra
mile. As I was walking out of the church
I saw that mine had some red on the top edge and spilling over round the “S” of
SOME. Hmmmm, it’s marred already I
thought. I commented to someone walking
beside me that my wristband must have gotten too close to a red one, or somebody
bled on it or something, and we laughed about its unique marking.
On the drive home, as I continued to ponder the marking,
I suddenly realized that the red wasn’t a mar at all, but a unique reminder to
me that when I was completely, totally, devastatingly lost in my sin with no
possible way of escape, Jesus did “AND THEN SOME” and shed his blood for
me. Wow.
But that’s not the end of my pondering, because that
wasn’t the end of what Jesus did. He
died for me, then God let man take Jesus body from the cross and put him in a
dark, dirty, damp tomb where he stayed for three days . . . “AND THEN SOME”thing
happened, Jesus rose from the grave into life everlasting. Wow
again!!!
To my amazement there’s yet another AND THEN SOME. Jesus
not only rose from the grave, but He wants me to live with Him for eternity. Imagine that!!! Even though He saw my dirty sin (think pig
rolling in mud here) He was willing to die for me, He rose again and conquered
death, then to top things off He offers to clean me up and take me with
Him. This is almost
unbelievable isn’t it?
But wait, there’s more to come. I have a home waiting for me in Heaven, and
while I am still here on earth that home is being prepared for me, He keeps
adding to it, He has made it just right for me AND THEN SOME.
If you are reading this account, I want you to know that
the “AND THEN SOME” things Jesus did weren’t just for me, He has done all this
for you too. If you don’t know Him as
your Savior accept Him now and let Him clean you up. If He is already your Savior, remember all
that He has done for you and determine to let Him reach out to others through
you by telling them about Jesus and living an “AND THEN SOME” life so that they
can see Jesus in you, and maybe when they ask why you would do “AND THEN SOME”
you’ll have the opportunity to tell them about the “AND THEN SOME”s that Jesus
did.