Fireproof

Friday night, Joelle and I went to see the movie "Fireproof." Both of us thought that the movie was really good. I would highly recommend people go to see it. But before you go to see it, there are a few things that some people may need to be aware of before going.

This movie is the third release from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA. This being the case, for those of you who are unchurched, don't be shocked that this movie has a heavy dose of Christianity and is not at all subtle in references to Christ, God, prayer, scriptures, Christian values, etc. Some people, if you're not prepared for that sort of thing, may feel that this movie is "too preachy."


Another thing to keep in mind is that, perhaps with the exception of Kirk Cameron, the characters in this movie are not lifelong, professional actors, but are members of Sherwood Baptist Church. So, don't expect to see performances that will be nominated for an Academy Award. That is not the point of this movie.

Finally, and this is especially for the non-Christian, there may be times when references to faith or God can seem "forced" or "unnatural." I would argue that this is not the case except for, perhaps, the context in which they come up. Among Christians, this is not unnatural or forced. Among other Christians, we can feel very comfortable sharing our faith or talking openly about it.

In most cases, when among non-Christians, we may not be as vocal as some of the characters in the movie because, for the most part, many Christians know that being perceived as "preachy" will not win people over for Christ and so we try not to talk in "Christianese" around non-Christians. Understand, also, that for some of these scenes, what Christians may say in their movie dialogue reflects what many Christians may feel and, among Christians, these things are understood, but must be verbalized for the benefit of those who do not already understand these beliefs. That is another reason why they may feel somewhat unnatural...because these wouldn't normally be spoken aloud, but rather understood in our hearts and minds.

Now, I say all this in order to help ensure that someone doesn't go into this movie and get somehow offended or unpleasantly surprised about these couple of things. None of this is meant to imply, in any way, that this movie is bad. This movie was excellent in its message and in making its point about how marriage should be valued, defended and the lengths to which we should go to protect our marriages and our families.

Sadly, the divorce rate among Christian families is no different than in secular families. This obviously is not the way God intended and shows that, even among Christian families, we don't understand that marriage is not about us. It's a picture of God's relationship with us...a worldly representation of His unconditional love for us and the fact that He continues to love us no-matter how we treat Him or how often we reject Him. His love never fails. And in our marriage relationships, we need to reflect that.

One important point of this movie is that this kind of love is not about "feelings." Feelings can change from one day to the next. Heck, they can change from one minute to the next. Love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. It's a decision. That's why our marriage vows are about "for better and for worse." Because sometimes, it will be worse. And if we fall back on how we feel...well...we can already see how many married couples rely on how they feel.

The ones who rely on a decision stand the test of time. They're the ones who keep their word. Even when it's hard. Even when they don't feel like it.

That is how marriage should be. Particularly in a Christian marriage, but ultimately in any marriage. If you're married...go see this movie. If you're not married yet...go see this movie.

Get an idea of how important marriage vows are and what it really means to be together "for better or for worse."