Exceeding Expectations

I delivered a completed (if you can call it that) genealogy to Mr. Paul Jarrett Monday evening (kind of turned into our FHE). I've been working for Mr. Jarrett for the past few months preparing his genealogy. He's an 82 year old gentleman who contacted the church searching for someone who could assist him in this work as he already needed to dedicate his time to writing his autobiography. When he discovered that not only had I completed his father's line, but his mother's line as well, he was amazed. I had exceeded his expectation.
Exceeding expectation could be a phrase to attribute to HIS life. We recently learned of an incredibly way in which he did just this. Last year, Mr. Jarrett and his son traveled back to his hometown in Pennsylvania. In doing this, he also made good on a debt he had incurred as a small child. During the depression, Paul was hospitalized due to tetanus. Since it was the depression, his parents were unable to pay the full bill. They paid what they were able, but left a $300 tab. When Paul returned from the war, his mother asked him that if he was ever able to get $300 together, that he pay that debt. Last year, he did just that. He got $300 together PLUS the interest that he estimated would have accrued over the 70-odd years since his hospitalization. He presented the hospital with a $10K check, to the shock and amazement of those individuals. How indicative of Mr. Jarrett's character to not only satisfy the promise he made to his mother, but also to those that took care of him in his childhood.
I thought this was something we could all learn from. In fact, it is something that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Although there is an expectation in our jobs, our church, our families, we can always exceed that expectation and go the extra mile. I recently learned where that phrase came from. During Roman rule, a Roman soldier could demand an individual to carry his pack for a Roman mile (a thousand paces or roughly 1.48 kilometers (1620 yards)). When Christ told us "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." (Matt 5:41), he was telling us that HIS expectation for us is to exceed man's expectation. In doing this, it is the only way to satisfy Christ's expectations for us. We can all do a little better, try a little harder, to fulfill the things Christ has asked of us.