Lessons From Fireproof

Fireproof, by the Kendrick brothers, was such a wonderful movie that I would be disappointed to see its impact decrease so soon, but as time goes by and other (less worthy) movies come out, this tends to happen.

My husband and I waited a long time to see this movie (it was not playing in any of the hundreds of movie theaters within an hour of where we live, and netflix had a huge back-order on it because it was so popular). It was worth the wait...it was a great movie! Its central focus is on covenantal marriage, and the work and sacrifices involved in being a great spouse, but there are other themes as well that are worth looking into. I found this on-line at Kakurri.wordpress.com:

Six Lessons from Fireproof gleaned from the strong relationship between Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron) and his dad, John Holt (Harris Malcom):

1. The older generation must lovingly and patiently declare the truth to the younger generation. And the younger generation must listen. John Holt’s care and concern for Caleb manifested itself in long conversations on the phone, long trips to visit, and long walks in the woods — all underscoring the need for and effectiveness of face-to-face communication and significant amounts of time when truth and love needed to be dispensed. Thankfully, Caleb mostly heeded his father’s advice and, unlike the stereotypical man, even called his father to vent his frustration and get help.

2. Sending a package by mail demonstrates commitment and investment to the recipient. This is so simple and yet so profound. John told Caleb he was going to send him something in the mail. It arrives, Caleb gets it out of his mailbox and opens it, and … The point is that John took time to wrap an object of value and mail it to Caleb. Caleb received and could hold this item in his hands. Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a package in mail? Especially when you’ve been told that something’s coming — something important and valuable and helpful.

3. Personal and significant gifts are better gifts. John’s journal [surely you've discovered by now that the gift was the journal] was a simple notebook with a leather cover containing pages of his handwritten notes. Caleb, although in despair over his marriage and perhaps a bit doubtful about the content of the journal or his dad’s purpose in sending it, at least seems to understand its significance. While the notes are simple and clear and personal, they resound with wisdom and truth. Producing such a journal obviously took time and demanded significant thought and careful penmanship.

4. True life change starts with thoughtful meditation on the Word of God. Each journal entry contained a verse of Scripture along with some commentary — truths for Caleb to consider in handling his marriage. Caleb kept the journal with him and read it on schedule. Most importantly, the entries in the journal provided a window of opportunity for John to witness to Caleb and get to the deeper heart issue of whether Caleb was trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.

5. True life change continues with heart change and then action! In addition to the biblical meditations in the journal, the entries also suggested a course of action. These weren’t intended to be the only outworkings of the Scriptural truths, but simply common sense ideas about what to do next. They are, however, excellent ideas. John wanted Caleb to connect truth to heart change to visible action. All three must be present! Truth and action without heart change is hypocrisy. Truth with heart change but no action is a dead faith. Heart change and action without truth is more than likely just selfishness.

6. Effective discipleship demands gracious listening and follow up. John’s helping of Caleb wasn’t a formula; it was a relationship. In addition to John’s exhortation to Caleb to take a disciplined approach to the material in the journal, John followed up appropriately. He always responded to Caleb’s pleas for help and made concerted efforts to bring the truth to bear in Caleb’s life.