LOL

Well if you have a teenager of your own, or for that matter, around you at any time with a phone and has texting abilities you may know what the initials "LOL" mean, or, you may have seen those initials and not really know what they mean. Either way, when you see those initials, lol, in a text it is short for, laughing out loud (it may have other meanings but atleast that's what my daughter told me). Why can't they just stick with "ha, ha" or something like that?

I'm not posting about laughing out loud today. I'm posting about another "lol" - labor of love. First Thessalonians 1:3 says, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ..." I shared this scripture this past Sunday night in our service and I spoke about the three characteristics that is found in this scripture that we ought to follow as a "Kingdom Church". You see Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus was addressing the Thessalonians and told them they were thankful of the faith, love and hope they were sharing and experiencing in their lives. I shared with our congregation that we ought to take this example and when people remember us "as a church" or think of us "as a church" they ought to take thought of these three characteristics as well, work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope.

I may post later on about the other two characteristics but for today, lol is on my mind (labor of love). Love is where it all starts. If we are going to be the Kingdom Church that God is wanting us to be, we have to love people just as Jesus did when he came to show us the Father. Jesus didn't have any restrictions when it came to loving people. He loved the good as well as the bad. He loved the adultress as well as the children. He loved the ones that crucified him as well as those that opposed it. I like the NIV version of this scripture, it says, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." We don't serve or labor for any other reason than love. That's why Jesus went to the cross - his love for us! Our labor for Christ, whatever that is in your life, should be prompted by our love for Jesus, which gives us a love for others and we can only have that love for others if we are continually abiding in Christ!

Have you lol'd lately? What have you done for the cause of the Kingdom lately? Do you love others like you should? Have you done something for someone with "no strings attached" lately? We all need to have a spirit of lol about us because it shows that God is present in our lives. God is love! What prompts you to labor?Remember what First Corinthians 13: 13 says, "...these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." LOL today!