Last night, with two other couples, Dave and I went to see Fireproof and I am very glad we did.
"Never leave your partner," is the adage that fire captain Caleb Holt drills into his crew’s heads. At home however he has long abandoned his wife forgoing her needs for his own selfish desires. He follows his own path pursues his own dreams and seems unable to see how his behavior is hurting his wife.
His wife Catherine (Erin Bethea) is humiliated by her husband’s behavior and wonders ‘when she stopped being good enough’ for her husband. She is unable to get through to him and after a painful screaming fight between them she declares she wants out.
Hurling toward the divorce court Caleb confides in his father (Harris Malcom) who challenges him to take The Love Dare. A forty day commitment to each day make some sacrifice for his wife. The Love Dare comes in the form of a handwritten book that his father mails to him. When Caleb starts on Day 1 he does so halfheartedly with an idea toward appeasing his father. He ignores the spirit of the dare and the faith component, Bible verses that accompany each dare.
It takes a particularly hurtful scene with his wife and the intervention of his father to show Caleb that is "just enough to get by" approach to marriage has resulted in his wife’s hardened heart and his complete isolation from God. When his father points out to him that his sacrifices being rejected by his wife mirror his rejection of God’s love for him Caleb is truly brought to the foot of the cross and begins to see how he needs God’s love and forgiveness in order to truly change himself and his marriage.
This movie has a powerful message about what true love requires. In this era where marriage is considered something you do to fulfill yourself rather than fulfilling another and sacrifice should never be a part of any relationship, Fireproof proves truly solid marriages are the ones where each spouse has their partner’s needs and desires close to their heart. A great marriage comes, not from sharing a life and a home but from sharing yourself, your time, your love, your talents and your faith in God.
From what I understand, Fireproof is now the top three movie in the U.S.. I encourage everyone to make every effort to see this movie and soon. A good showing at the box office will encourage movie makers to create more films with uplifting content and show Hollywood that the trash they usually push into theaters is just not good enough anymore.
My husband and I saw this film together, and we both remarked how different it was from the typical Hollywood movie fare that insults marriage, promotes affairs, or suggests your fantasies can be realities. This movie celebrates covenant, sacrificial love, and it was refreshing and powerful. We also have two of the resources available for marriage based on the film: the Love Dare book and a “Couple’s Kit” which is a bible study couples can do together or with group (it even has DVD clips from the movie.) Both are excellent and have been seriously the most important thing we’ve done for our marriage this year. I found them at http://www.fireproofoutreach.com. Take your spouse, your fiancee or someone who needs to know about marriage and go see this movie.