To begin (just to get this out of the way), "Fireproof" was simply amazing. I was completely blown away by everything the movie is.
--------------------Caution!! Spoiler Alert!!!--------------------
There is bravery (the main character is a fireman ... that should seem somewhat apparent hopefully), deep past pain, passion, love, hate, near-death experiences, a conversion of someone going from death to life (i.e. the main character becoming a Christian!!!), father/son healing, mother/son healing, spiritual battles, purity battles, funny jokes, community, solitude ... okay, I could go on forever analyzing this movie (which will probably be tomorrow's post).
And yes, I did watch this with my fiancée (which, if you are dating or engaged or married, PLEASE watch this movie not only in general, but with your significant other. It will probably change your relationship for the best).
Anyway, to continue with my point, I've been watching and reading a lot lately. And it's all been able to point me into the same area. Philippians 3:2-11 (go ahead, click on the link and read that passage before you read on, because I'm going to write in the assumption that you've read the passage from here on out).
Paul is talking to a church in Philippi that was part of his ministry team. They supported him when he came there to share the Gospel with them and continued to support him as he went on.
Here he is talking to them about not having confidence in the flesh or anything that your physical human body is able or capable of. "Don't rely on yourself and what you can do," is basically what he's getting at. He then goes on to tell them that if they think they're amazing and have done "it all" that he, Paul, has done more than they can imagine. That he has the most reason to have confidence in the flesh.
Then he goes on to list it all in a very, "I am amazing" fashion. But the kicker is that after he lists it all off, he says that he counts it all as loss. That he counts it as "rubbish" according to the ESV (verse 8). Now, Francis Chan was talking about this verse in one of his many video podcasts that I watch/listen to on my drive home from work, and he said that the word "rubbish" is actually the Greek "scubala", which is only used ONCE in the Bible. It basically means animal excrements. Which is .... wow, Paul is saying that he counts everything that's amazing about who he is, the stuff that we all look up to Paul about, he counts as .... dog crap. Insane.
Okay, then he goes on to say that he finds his identity in Christ, deeply seeks to know Him more, the power of His resurrection more and attain the resurrection of the dead (in essence, heaven and praising God forever in eternity in our new heavenly bodies).
BUT he throws something in the middle that I left out on purpose, because it is the thing that strikes me the most. Pauls says that he wants to,"share his (Jesus') sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."
...
So Paul is soooo sold out for Jesus and hardcore about eternally praising God in heaven, that he would share in Jesus' sufferings and become like Him in death (meaning death on the cross). So that no matter what he may attain the resurrection from the dead.
How do we live out our own lives? Do we really live like everything that makes us amazing in this world is utter crap? Do we live like we would do whatever it took to attain eternity with God in heaven? Suffer? Die a horriffic death? Become a servant in everyway?
I know my answers to most of those questions are a resounding no. I desperately need this passage to give myself a heart-check on how serrious I am about this "Christian thing." They said it best in "Fireproof" when Krik Cameron's friend asked him, "Because you can't be half in and say 'you're in,' you gotta be all in."
I cannot be half in. You cannot be half in. Christianity is not a lukewarm decision. You are either on fire or you are ice-cold, but you cannot be undecided or a Christian on Sunday and Wednesday. Being a Christian is NOT part of your life. It IS your life. Life it.
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