(Becca asked me if I would write something on how Fireproof impacted me - as a single person... This is what I came up with - for better or worse!)
SPOILER DISCLAIMER - THERE MAY BE THINGS IN THIS POST THAT WILL GIVE A WAY VITAL PARTS OF THE MOVIE - DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!
Fireproof, a story about love. I was truly moved by the movie, it is yet another example of love being a choice - not a feeling. Of course the film is about a married couple, but it is even more about the relationship we have with the Lord. Are we choosing to love Him, even when we don't feel like it? When we can't see His face, or feel His presence, or when we just don't know if He is even speaking to us. We much choose love. We must choose life, everyday making choices to let God know that we love Him. It's a slightly strange concept to me, but God made us so that He would have a companion, so why wouldn't we need to continually show our devotion to Him.
In the movie, Caleb made a decision to do what His father requested - which was to go through this book called "The Love Dare". His heart wasn't in it to begin with, but he was willing to do it for his dad. Somewhere along the way something changed in His heart - and he choose to follow the instructions in order to make his wife know that he loved her. He had to put away the idols in his own life so that nothing would come between them. In the process, Caleb realized that his relationship with God was the same way, that he was turning away from God continually, and that the reason he couldn't love his wife the way she needed to be loved was because he didn't know what true love was. True love isn't a feeling, it is sacrificing yourself, it is putting that person before your own needs.
Truthfully, when Becca asked me to write a bit about my perspective about the movie - you know writing how a movie about marriage could be pertinent to a single person, I thought - well of course it will give me a view of how I should love in the future with my husband. But now I know - the true meaning of the movie was about loving God, truly loving God, putting His will before my own. God has loved us fully - and gave His life for us, to be a Christian is to be like Christ, to do that we need to love Him, truly love Him. The tag line for the movie is "Never leave your partner behind." He doesn't ever leave us behind - can we say the same?
