Following Jesus

 Jesus commands in Matthew 5

In Matthew chapter 5, the most important and relevant commands of Jesus’ I believe are to turn the other cheek and to go with someone the extra mile if they force you to go one. I believe that these two have the most relevancy and importance because of the scarcity of witnessing these commands taken place in our lives in today’s culture. Turning the other cheek is rarely mentioned and taught because it’s a hard thing to do. As opposed to forgiving others and turning the other cheek, retaliation and revenge are the first things sought after harm has been done to us. This is wrong. Every wrong that is done to us will be seen and punished by God, revenge is his (Romans 12:19). Therefore there is no need for us to response to evil by evil. What it would cost to not follow this command would mean missing the opportunity to show someone the forgiveness that we have been given by God through Christ Jesus. After all, God did not reply to all our evils with evil, he offered us forgiveness and life instead. The second command that I chose in Matthew 5 was to go with someone an extra mile. This is also rare. It seems like when it comes to our relationships with people, especially with people who really need our help, we just do enough so we can call the job done. The people in my life that have been the most influential are the people who have went with me the extra mile and shared the word of God with me. The cost to not follow this command would be missing the opportunity to be a impact on someone’s life. My prayer is that we would pursue these commands of Jesus and become of followers of his ways.