Live Your Blessing February 11, 2026 Devotional

MATTHEW 5:40-41 | ⁴⁰ and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, ⁴¹ and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.

This teaching of Jesus would have provoked a hot response from some of His listeners. Anyone who wanted to provoke a violent response to Roman occupation would have seen it as hopeless weakness and sentimental idealism. Roman soldiers could force, just by asking, any Jewish person to carry their pack for up to a mile.
This was more than an annoyance, it was an indignity, a reminder of their occupation and subjection to arbitrary and hostile authority. No matter what you had planned, what responsibilities you carried, what deadlines you faced, you could be commandeered without explanation at any moment. How frustrating! How anger-inducing!

To offer to go a second mile? To double the unfair burden? To turn reluctant and forced submission into voluntary help? Unthinkable.

Precisely. This kind of behavior made Romans curious about Christians and ultimately drew them towards a faith that prioritized love over self.

When were you last “counter-cultural” in the way you served someone?

Gracious God,

Show me when I can undermine unfairness through an act of willing service. May my sacrifices open eyes and hearts.

Amen.