Fireproof

Today was a typical day which started out by climbing out of bed, having my first cup of coffee and getting ready for church. Some Sunday mornings are uneventful and we manage to get out the door without too much grouching or fussing over this or that. It used to be that we only had one bathroom that was shared amongst four people but now we have two bathrooms which makes it somewhat easier.

The sermon topic today was Den of Thieves and the pastor did a good job of illuminating the story of the money changers in the temple and how the Lord Jesus Christ became angry at the fact that people who were attempting to have relationship with God were being taken advantage of. Jesus got so angry he demonstrated his dislike by turning over the tables and chasing the money changers out of the temple with a whip.

Thanks to budgetary constraints we came home after church and had beef stew and a sandwich instead of going out to lunch. That is when I discovered that the other bicycle that I had not locked up on the porch was gone. Once lunch was over I called the office and reported it missing and then called the courtesy officer on site and reported it to him as well. We hopped in the Durango and made some trips through the apartment complex and the neighborhood behind where we live to see if we might spot the bike.

I went bowling tonight as usual and as usual I did not do as well as I would have liked. That is ok, luckily for my family I do not depend on my bowling prowess for putting food on the table or paying the bills. It is more an excuse for me to get off my rear end and simulate some physical activity which would be called exercise. Despite the struggle to reach the magical 300 score I do manage to have some fun with the game.

I came home after bowling and settled down in my favorite recliner and geared up to eat dinner and watch the idiot box. As my luck would have it there was not much on TV to watch and even if the show was worth watching I had already seen the movies that were showing already. Katy and I decided to check ON DEMAD for Comcast to see what movies were being offered there. Fireproof was one of the new movies that was in the New Movie section so we decided to watch it. I had seen several announcements about the movie from other Christian related websites etc and was glad to be able to have something to watch that I had never seen before. I call the TV an idiot box because of several reasons. One reason is because there is not a lot of redeeming value in most of the programming that comes out of it. Sure, there are some good things on TV and if you search for them you can find them but for the majority of what is offered up you and I (and our families) would be much better off not watching it. One of the other reasons I call it an idiot box is because most of the movies that are on TV we have already seen at the movies. Why is it we like to watch the same ole movies over and over and over and over again?

From the outset I already knew that the movie was going to have Christian values at the heart of the message. I also know that if you have not seen the movie that you do not need for me to ruin it for you here in my blog. That leaves me with a dilemma because I really would like to write about some of the thoughts and feelings that I had while watching the movie. Without giving too much away I will not talk about the plot of the movie and just share some of my thoughts that I gleaned from it. Oh yeah, if you watch it and you feel that you are the sensitive type then you might want to have a box of Kleenex available.

One of the main points that stood out for me was the fact that as a human being I do not know how to love my spouse. I think that I can love my spouse the way she needs to be loved but if I am depending on my ability to do this from within myself with no help then I am fighting a loosing battle. If I were honest with myself when I look within my own heart all it wants to do is make me happy. My heart, no matter how hard I fight it will only do what it can to satisfy itself. What can I do to make me happy and fulfilled? If I truly want to love my spouse the way God wants me to love her and the way she deserves to be loved is to understand what love really is.

This is where the love of God and his message to humanity at the cross leaves the love that is preached by Hollywood behind. The love that is preached by Hollywood is self absorbed and self centered and only lasts for a season. Hollywood portrays the “if it feels good do it” and”if it does not work out you can always throw it away and find a different one” mentality. The Bible tells us that “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”. Through the ages God has provided us with everything we have needed and much more. Despite the fact that we have fought him at every turn and spat in his face God has pursued us and provided his son as a living sacrifice for our sins. Godly love is eternal and unconditional while the love that a man can offer is conditional and self centered. The only way that I can understand how to love my spouse is to enter in to a love relationship with my creator first. Once I do that God enters into my heart and shows me his great love and gives me the tools I need to learn how to walk away from the old ugly habits that I have and to walk in the newness of life that only God can give.

One of the other points that stood out for me that came from the 40 day “love dare” book was the importance of understanding that there are parasites that are in our lives that can suck the life out of us and our marriage. The word parasites mean addictions. How do we find out what addictions are in our life? That is easy, what do you spend your time and money on? What consumes your time? When you are left to your own devices what do you do during your quiet time when no one else is there watching? There are many things in this world that can capture our attention. There are more addictions in this world than I have time to write about. To name a few lets start out with drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, pornography, food. How about being addicted to technology and the Internet? How much time do we spend surfing this website and that website and before you know it the hours have slipped away.

The important thing is that we are honest with ourselves and God and ask him to reveal to us those addictions in our lives and to realize that the time and energy that we spend on them is robbing us of the time and energy that should be spent on learning how to love our creator and learning how to love our own spouses. If there is anything in our lives that is more important than God and our families then we should take a serious look at what that is and why we are allowing that to happen. There is nothing more important to us than our relationship with a God who loves us and our families who he has placed in our lives.

One of the other things that I got from Fireproof is that if I am going to love my spouse I should do it with the attitude of going all out. I should put my mind, body and soul into it. I should give my spouse my very best and not be cheap. The love of God at the cross was not cheap and our relationship with him should not be treated that way. Neither should our marriage relationship with our spouses.

Our spouses deserve our very best. I am going to say this from that of a male perspective and because I have been married to a godly woman for the last 19 years as of this May. Giving your spouse your very best does not always mean buying her all of the diamonds and roses that your pocket book can buy. Yes, our wives do love fine jewelry and roses however those things will only go so far. How you speak to your wife and how much quality time you spend with her will go much further than anything you can buy with money. Sacrificing what makes you happy to provide her with the things that make her happy is what will go a long way towards showing her that you love her. Your wife needs to hear that you love her and respect her and that she is your number one gal. She also needs to SEE your love in action. There is nothing more powerful than love in action. That is where the rubber meets the road and the proof in the pudding.

Last but not least men, your wife needs for you to be a leader in the family. That does not mean that she needs for you to be a dictator in the home. It means that she needs for you to do what you say. Live what you preach. Lead your wife by example. Say I love you and then do those things that reflect your love and admiration. If you want to have the type of peace and happiness in your marriage relationship that will weather the fires of this life time then you will need a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Only through his love and strength will you find what it takes in your heart to do whatever it takes.

The movie Fireproof is excellent and it will challenge you and your spouse to do whatever it takes to Fireproof your relationship with him and each other no matter how good or bad it might be.

God bless







James Moffitt
http://www.lightourworld.com
chiefpropellerhead@comcast.net