This life is a labor of love. Because to live IS to love, and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. The gift of God is His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. And that's not something that has to, or can be, earned. That is something that we have already been given. Something we simply need to receive. And, since receiving and releasing are not only just the Divine Order of things, but are intimately connected--we receive BY releasing, and we release BY receiving--we need to focus on God's love for us. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So you have to KNOW what you do have. You have to let what's inside--the love of God--come out. By knowing and believing that it's in there. So let me say what I'm trying to say clearly and simply: A labor of love... is letting God love you. Dwelling in His love. Basking in His love. Drowning in His love. Letting His love overwhelm you until there is nothing else. Because when you are that wrapped up in God's love for you--the receiving part--it WILL come out of you. Naturally. It has to. Because there is nothing else. What's inside--what you believe is inside--will come out. Because no matter what you believe is in there... it's too big to stay in there. Which is why I always say, "Feel what you feel, but don't let it control you." You can't lock up your feelings. They will fester, and grow, and eventually explode. Which is no good for anybody. Let me say it like this: Jesus finished the work, right? He completed the ultimate labor of love. And He did so in order for us to be able to know who He is, and who we are. In order to be able to receive the love that He has always been giving us. God didn't start loving us at the cross. He always has and always will love us. What happened on the cross is that our eyes were open. The scales fell from our eyes. The light shined on us, and into us, and through us, and out of us... so that we could see clearly. Jesus said the greatest love a man can have is to lay down His life for His friends. And then He went to the cross and did just that. He didn't just tell us... He showed us. He completed the labor of love so that we could experience His love. He did what needed to be done in order for us to be able to receive and release His gift. His love. His Spirit. His life. The true labor of love--that equips and empowers all of OUR labors of love--was the cross. Was Jesus laying His life down. Was the ultimate sacrifice. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). When we had nothing to offer, God gave us everything. Because He loved us. Because He wanted us to have everything that He has and everything that He is. And that labor of love is what we both receive and release. That labor of love is what equips and empowers us to live... by letting Him love us and loving Him back with that same love!

Entering into rest is really the only "work," if I can put it that way, that is left. And that's only because while God made the Way of Grace, we have to respond to it with the Walk of Faith in order to experience and enjoy the gift we've been given. See, faith doesn't make something true. The truth is already true. Always has been, always will be. Faith simply makes what is already true... true for you. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for. Faith is knowing and believing that what God says about you is true. Again--it's true whether you believe it or not. But if you don't know it and believe it, it doesn't do you a whole lot of good. And here's why all of that is important--you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. So it's of paramount importance to know what you have. So that you can give it away. Use it. Enjoy it. Experience it. Receiving and releasing is the Divine Order of things. We love because God first loved us. He filled us up with His love so that it might overflow out of us. Naturally. With every move we make and every breath we take. Love is our nature. It's not just what we do, it's who we are. And that's why I'm convinced that anything--everything--we do can, and should be, a labor of love. Let's take me for example. I like to use myself for example because I know I won't get offended. At the moment I work at a grocery store. Which is important in the sense that people can't buy stuff if nobody works at the store. But which is also important in the sense that my paycheck helps put a roof over my family's head, and food on the table. So even if you're having trouble convincing yourself that you're doing your job because you love your employer, or because you love the people your job directly affects... at some point, somewhere, you can find the love. I work five or six days a week because I love my family. That's where the rubber meets the road. Paul even wrote about this, rather succinctly, when he penned 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." Work might not always feel important, especially when you're in the midst of a grind... or when you feel like you're missing out on things because you're "stuck at work." But if you keep your eyes on the prize, if I can say it that way, and you know why you're REALLY working... then it becomes less of a grind. It's a sacrifice, don't get me wrong, but when you have the right motivation it's totally worth it. And that's what this Rant series is really all about: Motivation. Why we do what we do. I believe that the best (probably the only) reason to do anything is because it is in your heart to do it. Living from the inside-out. Living from the heart. Doing everything we do heartily--to the best of our ability and because it is in our hearts to do it. It doesn't matter what "it" is. As long as you're doing it as unto the Lord. As long as you're doing it for the right reason. Even when it comes to work... it can, and ought to be, a labor of love!

This is one of my favorite verses (all of them, I know) because on the face of it, it seems ridiculous and nonsensical, "Let us labour therefore to enter into rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" (Hebrews 4:11). Makes it sound like, "hurry up and finish the work so you can rest." Even the Message Bible bears this out, "So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience." But let's look at it another way. Let's look at it from the idea of John 19:30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." It is finished. The work is done. Not because of anything WE did, but because of everything HE did. Jesus said the greatest love a man could have was to lay his life down for his friends. And then He put His money where His mouth was (so to speak) and went to the cross and laid His life down for us. He did everything that needed to be done... so that we could rest. That was HIS labor of love. He did it because He loved us. He did it so that we could rest. Look. Jesus fought the war to end all wars. And He won it. Which means there are no more wars left to win. Or fight. The only fight we need to concern ourselves with is the good fight of faith. Laying hold of the gift that we've already been given. Receiving and releasing the love of God. It's not about us doing ANYTHING except having faith. Faith is what makes what is already true... true for you. And, in line with my theme that everything is a labor of love... love is what we have faith in. Jesus said, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22). Which means "Have faith in love." Because God IS love. Fighting the good fight of faith is a labor of love because fighting the good fight of faith is believing that God loves us, no matter what the world is telling us. Believing the ultimate truth of the universe that says, "God is love and He loves you." The ultimate truth of the universe that is found in John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." That's what this life is all about; receiving and releasing God's love. That's what this life is for. That's why we were created. And when love becomes our one (and only) priority, that's when we can experience and enjoy the gift--the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love--that we have been given. We don't have to labor in order to earn it. We labor in order to ENTER it. Enter into the sheepfold. Through the door. Which is Jesus. Which is love. And, just for the record, the word "labour" in our verse in Hebrews is number 4704 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "To use speed." Hurry up! Lay hold of what's been given to you! Stop trying to do anything else, and stop trying to get anything else, and stop trying to BE anything else. Hurry up and rest in your heavenly Father's arms. Embrace your EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny as the Father's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased! Hurry up... and stop hurrying up! I've heard faith described as a blind leap into the light, but I don't think there's really anything blind about it. It's walking the path that His Word lights up for us. Because we can see that path. Because we can trust the path. Because we know that HE knows where we should go, and how to get us there!

I like that phrase. "Labor of love." Because even though it could be perceived as having a slightly negative connotation, "I'm only doing this because I love you. I don't really want to though," it has the best motivation that there is for us to do anything. Ever. Look at Colossians 3:23, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." That's one of my favorite verses. Because it, again, gives us the motivation for our actions. Do it heartily. Do it to the best of your ability, and do it because it is in your heart to do it. Do it as unto the Lord. I always Rant about letting God love you and then loving Him back by loving people. Because whatsoever you do unto the least of them you do unto the King. And the best part, as always, is that it is simply receiving and releasing His love. We love... because He first loved us. We CAN love because He has filled us with HIS love. Remember now, you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So when it comes to what you do in your life, on a daily basis, wherever you are regarding whoever you are in contact with, it can (and ought to) be a labor of love. Doing things because they are in your heart to do them. Not because you think you're going to get something out of it, but because you want to put something into it. You want to make things better. You want to help people. Well, that comes from the heart. And my favorite thing about the heart is that it is so single-minded. The heart cares about love. Period. That is the only thing it is concerned with. Love is the only thing that matters, I guess is what I'm trying to say. So when we do things... that's where they should come from. They should come from a place of love. They should come from the heart. And, since love is giving, we can stop trying so hard to get things. We should stop trying to get what we think we haven't got by being someone we're not. We need to know what we have... so that we can give it away. So that we can share it. So that we can experience it and enjoy it BY giving it away and sharing it. So here's the deal: Everything can, and should, be a labor of love. Think about it. Even when we do things to take care of ourselves. That's self-love. Self-care. And that's important. And, listen, I know there are a lot of people out there who don't spend a lot of time or effort on figuring out, or thinking about, why they do the things they do. They just kind of shrug their shoulders and keep plowing on. But, as always, there's a more excellent way. A little self-reflection can help us to stay on--or get on--the right track. Purpose driven, right? Doing things not just to be doing them, but doing by purpose, on purpose, and with purpose. Doing things... I'm gonna keep saying it... because it is in our hearts to do them. If love is your motivation you can't go wrong. Things might not go exactly the way you want them to, or the way you necessarily think they should... but if you're out there spreading love, I believe things WILL go the way they're supposed to. Love is a labor. Charity is love is action. Doing what we do because it's in our hearts to do it. Doing what we do because we are so full of God's love that we couldn't keep it inside if we tried. Doing what we do... because of love.

What we have been given, we are to give. Receiving and releasing, right? We have been reconcilied, and we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. That's how it works. God fills us up and then lets us loose to empty ourselves out--which, by the way, is how we fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. We empty ourselves in order to fill ourselves. Look at Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now link that with Matthew 10:7, "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." We are preaching the gospel, right? Going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature. Not so much telling people TO repent, as telling people WHY they can repent and HOW they can repent. Because the word "repent" simply means to think again about something in light of something else. In this case, think again about everything in light of the cross. Because, as my momma once said, "Either the cross changed everything, or it didn't change anything." So we're not preaching "Get right or get left." We're preaching, "God is love and He loves you." We're not preaching, "Change into something better than you are so that God can love you." We're preaching, "God is love and He loves you." We're not preaching, "You're a dirty sinner and you need to change your ways." We're preaching, "God is love and He loves you!" Jesus preached, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand." And then He told us to preach, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Everything He expects from us, He first gives to us. Jesus came preaching, and that's how, and why, we can preach. Receiving and releasing. Filling ourselves up with what God has already filled us with. That's the Divine order of things. What He gives... we give back... by giving to each other. Letting God love the hell out of us, and then loving Him back by loving people. Preaching, in a sense, what He preached. Receiving it and releasing it. Breathing it in and breathing it out. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Which means it is within our reach. It is available to us. That's what we need to let people know. Not, "Do this in order to earn this." It's not about performance-based religion. It's about God giving us everything He has and everything He is... so that we can have it. So that we can experience it and enjoy it. When you give someone a gift it's not about you at all. It's about them having it. And what they do with it doesn't matter. Your part was the giving. You did your part. Don't worry about the rest of it. One of my favorite verses of all time is Mark 6:11 in the Message Bible, "If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug yoru shoulders and be on your way." It's ok if people aren't picking up what you're laying down. It's ok for you to plant a seed and not see it necessarily come to harvest. Some plant, some water, but it is God who gets the harvest. So when you're preaching... just do your part. Do what you can do for the people (places, and things) in your path. And let your love--your maximum effort--be good enough!

Preaching the gospel is something anybody can do. No matter where they are. No matter who--if anyone--is around. Because preaching the gospel is simply loving your environment. The people, places, and things you interact with. I remember reading a story once about this girl--it was supposed to be a motivational story to get high school kids to want to go to college, if I remember correctly--and the thing they really hammered home was that this girl, on top of her studies, and extracurricular activies... picked up some litter and threw it in the garbage can. Like... that's what they were blown away by. And at the time it didn't seem like a huge deal to me. It seemed like picking up litter wasn't really the best way to spark someone's interest in college. But, I gotta admit, that story stuck with me. Especially when I see how often that sort of stuff DOESN'T happen. We really seem to have this idea of, "Not my problem. Someone else will do it." When, in fact, it IS our problem. There's a line in a Marvel movie that I really like where one character asks the other, "Why do you care about saving the world?" (I'm paraphrasing.) And the answer was, "Because I'm one of the idiots who lives on it!" Like... not only are we all in this together... but this is what we've got. I know there are some people out there waiting for the sweet by and by. I know there are people who are just hanging on until Jesus comes--and if you know me at all you know that I'm not interested in pushing my beliefs on people. Believe what you want to believe. I'm not gonna fight you about it. But I always come back to Revelation 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." What we have is here and now. Whatever happens after we die... will happen. What happens when we're here... we can put some influence over. We are equipped and empowered to rule and reign ON THIS EARTH. So we need to take care of the things in our path. If there's garbage in our path, maybe we just pick it up. Leave the environment we find ourselves in better than we found it. Little things. Like returning your shopping cart to the cart corral. As many times as I've worked at grocery stores, that one really gets me. But my point for today it--preaching the gospel in all the world to every creature DOESN'T mean hammering people with Bible verses. It means spreading love everywhere you go, to everything you encounter. That's how you reign on this earth as a king and priest. Ruling and reigning in love. Through love. With love. Because of love. Guys... it's all about love. That's what the gospel is--the good news that God is love and He loves you. The good news that BECAUSE He loves you, you can love Him back by loving people. You can love Him back by loving animals. You can love Him back by loving the earth. The world. Everything and everybody. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Go wherever you go and spread the love that's inside you. Every day in every way!

This is one that I like: "And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where" (Luke 9:6). And I like it because it, to me, kind of gives a qualifier to the gospel we should be preaching. If what you are saying isn't healing people--physically, mentally, emotionally--it probably isn't the gospel. I really DON'T like this idea we seem to have created that says we should slam people, and try to crush them under our thumb, and make them into robots created in OUR image... and then we call that "tough love." We seem to forget that love doesn't keep a record of rights and wrongs. So this list that we like to make--and check twice--in order to make sure we know what people have done (or not done) to (or for) us... so that we can treat them accordingly... guys. That's not love. Love is turning the other cheek. Love is giving people what you've got no matter what they give you. Glady spending all you have and all you are and not worrying about how it's received. And, listen, that doesn't mean you don't use wisdom when you're loving people. Building those connections and relationships so that you know HOW to love someone in the most effective way. Preach the gospel at all times, and if you have to... use words. Love people the way THEY need to be loved. Healing everywhere you go. Remember Acts 3:5-6 when Peter and John found the lame man? "And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." See, it doesn't matter so much what we have. It matters what we do with what we have. It matters that you give what you have. Do what you can do. And make sure that what you're doing is helping and not hurting. Make sure that you're healing people. If someone is lame, don't just throw a few coins at their feet. Give them what they REALLY need. And I'm not talking only specifically about physical lameness. I'm talking about any kind of problem. Emotional problems. Anger. Bitterness. Resentfulness. We can help people with those things too. By, number one, not taking them personally. Even if it is personal. By letting people feel what they feel. Listen, you can't fix every problem someone has. You just can't. No matter how much you might want to. But you CAN help people no matter what. When you use that wisdom. That connection. That relationship. When you do the work, and put in the effort in order to find out what they need. Sometimes it's just someone to talk to. Sometimes it's a shoulder to cry on. You can find out what kind of "preaching" will do the most healing just by getting to know the person. Everybody loves in different ways and everybody receives love in different ways. Healing everywhere you go, by preaching the gospel, means tailoring your message to your audience, if I can say it that way. There are some people in my life that I can drop a memory verse on and it will really help them. There are some people who would rather have a hug. Again, that's wisdom. That's knowing HOW to preach. HOW to connect with people. HOW to love them. So that it is effective...!

When I think of ministry, I usually think about preaching. You know, because I'm a preacher. I've been told that I'm a pretty good public speaker, and I know I'm a decent wordsmith. These Rants, and the YouTube videos... at this time and place that's a lot of what I do. But that's not ALL of what I do. Because I'm also a father (and a step-father), and a son. A husband. A brother. I'm a worker. A friend. I'm a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And while I probably CAN preach (in the traditional standing at a pulpit sense) to most of those people... for the most part I don't feel the need to. Because for the most part, the most effective preaching that I can do is just loving those people that I am connected with. Just pouring myself into my family. My friends. My coworkers. Using wherever I find myself as my mission field. Preaching the gospel at all times, and sometimes even using my words. And, by the way, using your words doesn't mean trying to shove your concept of Jesus down someone's throat. That will merely ensure that whoever you're talking to will choke on it. Vomit it up. But you can preach Jesus without saying the word "Jesus." Because God is love. And you preach love... by putting your money where your mouth is. Jesus told His disciples what the greatest love a man can have is--laying your life down for your friends. And then He went to the cross and did just that. He didn't just tell us. He showed us. He made it real by putting His words into action. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:18, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." I think that's such an important concept. He reconciled us... and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. He gives to us... and we simply receive it and release it. It's not us trying to figure out what to do all the time. It's us just letting what HE has filled us up with come out. Naturally. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what He has already filled us up with! Being a witness is the best way to preach the gospel. Just sharing your experience. What you've seen, and heard, and felt. Sharing God's love because you've experienced it and you know it is too good to keep to yourself. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. That's how we spread the good news (or preach the gospel)! That's how we experience and enjoy the gift we've beeen given. We experience it and enjoy it by sharing it. By giving it away. The gift we've been given is love. Love is giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are to the people you come into contact with and not worrying about what they do with what you give them. Just letting them be THEM, and loving them no matter what. Letting God love the hell out of you, and loving Him back by loving the hell out of people. All people. Any people. All of creation. Being good to your environment--the people, places, and things that you come into contact with. Loving at all times. In all ways. That's true ministry. Letting the love and the light and the life of God come out of you. That's how we walk worthy of our calling. Because love comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it's preaching from a pulpit. Sometimes it's telling someone, "I got your back." Just being there for someone. Letting them know you care. Preaching the gospel at all time to all creatures!

I've been a preacher for a while. And I don't really do it as much anymore, at this point I'm doing the online thing. But when I first got started in ministry that was my main job: preaching. Standing up in front of people and telling them what I hear God saying to me. Receiving and releasing what God gave to me. That, to me, was what ministry was. But then I can remember very clearly one morning--I did the early morning service and then the senior pastor did the "main" service--I got up there and said, "I want you guys to know that I'm here for you. More than just standing up here and talking at you. I'm not just preacher Tom, I'm Pastor Tom." And I could see the smile on my pastor's face. I mean he lit up. And I'm pretty sure, in retrospect, he was waiting for me to step up. To step into my full capacity. My destiny, as it were. Because preaching the gospel is about more than just reading the Bible and telling people what you think God is saying to you. Look at Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." That's Jesus talking. And think about this, if we're supposed to preach the gospel to every creature, do you think that means we should be holding sermons for the squirrels? Telling the animals what the Bible says? Or do you think there's more to preaching the gospel than just slamming your chicklets together? I think there's more to it. I think we ought to prescribe to the theory that you should preach the gospel at all times, and if we absolutely positively have to... we should use our words. Look at John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Jesus again. Those red letters. Talking about how people would be able to identify us as His followers. Not by what we say... but by what we DO. By the love we have for one another. I don't think there could possibly be a better rap for someone that "He's really nice." Or, "She loves people." That, to me, is better than, "He never misses church on Sunday." And I'm not saying anything bad about church on Sunday. Simply that I'd rather BE the church than go to A church. Go into all the world, right? Or, at the very least, shine the light of love wherever you are. I have a pretty clear path that I use on the daily--from home, to work, back to home. So that's my mission field, as it were. The people at home... and the people at work. Just connecting with the people God has put in my path. And by the way, we currently have two dogs, so I'm doing my part on the "all creatures" part too. But the point of this Rant series is to get us to think outside of the box. Like I had to when I started in the ministry. Preaching the gospel is showing God's love to everything and everybody. Being there for people. Not just doing a "religious job." And, again, I don't have anything against people who do those jobs in or around the churches. Deacons. Custodians. Worship leaders. Musicians. All of them. That's awesome. Do what is in your heart to do. And do it BECAUSE it's in your heart to do it. Preaching is about spreading God's love. That's as simple as I can make it. And we can all do that. No matter where we are or who is around!

The thing I like about Matthew 5:48 is that when it says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," is that--as always--the emphasis is on GOD and not on us. Jesus wasn't saying, "God is perfect so you better be perfect too, or else." He was saying, "God is perfect. God lives in you. You can stop trying to be someone you're not and you can simply embrace who you really are." God's perfection IS our perfection. That's what I'm trying to say today. It doesn't come from anywhere or anything else. It can't. Because perfection is maturity. Being made perfect... in love. We can't grow up until we understand that it is all about love. Loving someone--in the self-sacrificial agape God love way--is the most mature thing you can do. Loving someone is what it means to be holy. Loving someone is what it means to be alive. So when we see the old junkyard dog, Paul, writing to all these churches telling them to grow up, to put away childish things, we have to understand that he was exhorting them to love one another. Under the law it was a Mr. Perfect, don't mess up or you'll get into trouble, kind of operation. But we are not under the law. We are under grace. And the only way to fall from grace is to put ourselves back up under the law and try to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. Jesus sweat great drops of blood in order to bring us out of that performance based religion. And because it was the blood that redeemed it... it is no longer about what we do, but who we are. The blood tells. There is life in the blood. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God! We are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. His DNA--the Divine Nature of the Almighty--runs through our veins. Growing up isn't about changing into someone we're not. It's about embracing who we are. Who we really are. Which is who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. Christ in you, the hope of glory. The hope of revealed glory. And when we embrace His correction--you learn and grow, make mistakes and learn from them, know better and then do better--that's when the glory of the Lord is REVEALED in US! That's when what is inside comes out. Naturally. Without us having to try to do works and labor--in the Spiritual sense. That's when we, quite naturally, will do all the things Jesus did and greater works than He did. Because that's when the love inside of us will fill us up to overflowing and come out. We receive and release the love of God. We let what's inside--the love, the forgiveness, the grace, the mercy... the maturity--come out, by knowing and believing that it's in there. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. You can't grow up without going through things. That's the maturity process. And you can't grow up without knowing what it looks like to BE grown up. Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Look into the mirror and see who you really are. Let God define you by HIS perfect love. That's when you can EXPERIENCE His perfect love. That's when you can truly live... by letting God love you and then loving Him back by loving people!