Going the Extra Mile?

Wayne Gerdes, of Wadsworth, Illinois is a "driven"man. He is obsessed with squeezing every extra mile out of a gallon of gasoline that he possibly can. And he has been surprisingly successful! He's been able to run a Ford Ranger pick-up so that it got 84 miles per gallon. And driving his current car, a hybrid Honda Insight, he's been able to achieve an amazing 180 miles per gallon! You see, Gerdes doesn't want just good or even great gas mileage - he is after "hyper" gas mileage. That's right, he's a breed of drivers known as "hypermilers."

Now how does he do it? For starters, he drives smart: a light foot on the gas pedal, less idling, no jack rabbit starts and stops. But Gerdes doesn't stop there. He does other things like checking his tire pressure every week to make sure the tires are at their maximum weight and learning to "sweat it out" on a hot day by forgoing the car's air conditioning (which can cut gas consumption significantly). In this day of high gas prices, all of us who want to get that "extra" mile out of a gallon of gas can learn something from these hypermilers!

Jesus talked about going the extra mile. In Matthew 5:41 he says, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." He was referring to a common practice of Roman soldiers, who were allowed by law to require anyone they encountered to carry their gear for one mile. Jesus is saying that if this happens to you ... carry their gear for a second (or extra) mile. Let's purpose today to go the extra mile for someone. Look for an opportunity to be a "hypermiler" for Christ!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj