Fireproof

“How can you love somebody again and again and again when she keeps rejecting you?” cried a frustrated married man who had reluctantly agreed to take on a 40-day “The Love Dare” from his father, in a final attempt to save his marriage. The man had taken steps to demonstrate his love towards his estranged wife and each attempt was met with either hostility, indifference or rejection.

My female owner saw herself in this film, Fireproof. A sobering re-enactment of her relationship with God. Time and time again, she rejected God’s love. She has told Him that she does not trust Him fully or to stay away until she is ready. Time and time again, God still reached out to her. Tireless and steadfast. Faithful and patient. Love personified.

My female owner is starting to understand more about God’s love. Love, she realises, is not an emotion. It is a decision to demonstrate, through acts of kindness whether the person deserves it or reciprocates your efforts, your commitment to the person.

A very touching film.

The film also spoke to her in many ways.

Don’t follow your heart, coz it can be deceived. Instead, lead it.
Following your heart implies acting on your emotions. Emotions are fleeting. They fluctuate like the weather. People need something more definitive and sound to guide them in life. Acting on feelings and impulses is detrimental for the moral fabric of society (“I did it because I felt like it”). My female owner decided that she will use the word of God to lead her heart. And even when she doesn’t feel like it, she must take the effort to lead her heart in the right direction.

You cannot give what you don’t have.
The man was trying to love his wife with his own efforts and met with frustration when she did not reciprocate. His turning point came when he accepted Jesus, the ultimate source of love. Henceforth, he was able to demonstrate his love to his wife despite her icy responses. His acts of love started to come from the heart and he was able to give, without receiving anything in return. My female owner finally understood the verse, “We love, because He first loved us.”

God’s standards are so high. Hatred is considered murder and lust, adultery.
Thankfully, God made a way for everyone to be saved, through Jesus Christ. The film brought out the simple truth that people think that doing good deeds will bring them to heaven. That concept is based on their standards and interpretation of what doing good will bring for them. In reality, whatever good deeds we do will not earn us a place in heaven. Jesus, the only Man who met God’s standards, died for us so that by accepting Him, we receive salvation (and not earn it).

My female owner has always set high standards for herself and other people. She gets peeved with slipshod work and people who “talk big” (those who do not deliver what they promised). Today, she realised that because God has such high standards, whatever He promised He will do is surely going to be of excellent quality, amazing and mind-blowing. My female owner has imposed her negative experiences of man’s work onto God and has been insecure about whether God will deliver His promises “properly”.

One for the guys:
Women are like roses. Treat them right and they will bloom. Treat them wrong and they will wilt.

Selah.