Although I try not to get caught up in unanswerable questions, sometimes Jesus allows me to sense what He is doing – as He did this past weekend in the beautiful community of Jonesboro, GA, where we were invited to share The Gospel through a Born Wild event at the invitation of Pastor Mel and Gina Blackaby.

Before any of the weekend events began, I was literally moved to tears. I stood in awe as this huge church family labored together to make this event possible. I heard stories of how faithful, prayer servants who had been walking the property weeks before my arrival. How thousands of dollars were given to rearrange the entire arena to compensate for the Tropical Storm. How people traveled from all around the country to partner with the outreach.

I saw the people of God give themselves to each other in the spirit of unity and love.

I saw what was possible when people who were created in the image of God choose to make their priorities match the priorities of Heaven.

I saw a glimpse of what it looks like when the fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer actually happens before your eyes:

“Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

It became apparent to me that before anything was done for the public, our Father’s Joy was already being poured out over us. The only way I can explain it is to describe it through the lens of being a father. The greatest joy I get from my sons is not what they accomplish – but rather the way they love on each other as they attempt to do something for me.

Although hundreds were greatly encouraged by the Born Wild events, I believe that one of our Father’s greatest delights was in the way a bunch of his kids all sacrificed through acts of love towards one another to do something special to bless others.

I want to honor and express my appreciation of the Blackaby family for the way they have modeled family for generations, and how that has made a way for a special blessing on a church family to be far more than a congregation of people.

If God wanted something other than a family, He would have called himself something other than Father.

I’m headed home after a long three weeks with a tired body and full heart.

Well done Family!

Todd and Leslie