While Carolyn and I were in Houston this weekend, we decided to catch a morning matinee showing of "Fireproof", the new movie starring Kirk Cameron, and um... those other people whom I don't know.

The movie is about a firefighter named Caleb Holt. After 7 years of marriage, he and his wife decide that its over and make plans to divorce. However, Caleb's father steps in and asks him to hold off the divorce for 40 days. Instead, he gives Caleb a handwritten book titled "Love Dare" which gives him something new to do each day towards his wife. The instructions were things like "Don't say anything negative", or "Do something nice to show you care".

Anyways, I actually went in with super low expectations. I expected to see a lame attempt at a feel-good movie, with some sappy music put in at times to tug at the heart-strings. I even wondered why this wasn't a direct-to-DVD release. Because what I've noticed is that a lot of the Christian mainstream media out there simply waters down the message and makes it appealing to everyone out there. A lot of it is based on health-and-wealth gospel, increasing the self-esteem message, or just making you feel emotional for a brief moment.

I was pleasantly surprised though. The movie was definitely written with Christian principles and conveyed them in a way that was truly practical in marriage. The main theme of the movie comes when Caleb talks about the frustration and sadness of trying to love someone, only to have them reject you over and over again. "Why don't we just give up?" Caleb asks his dad.

"Because God doesn't give up on us in the very same way," his dad responded.

The movie is a reminder of the difficulties in relationships, but also the grace that we are provided to carry on each day. I definitely walked out of the movie loving my wife more, as I was convicted to continue to put Carolyn before myself every day.