The Love Dare With God

Most of you reading this have likely heard about or seen the movie Fireproof and the book The Love Dare.  For those who don't know much about these things, here's a quick synopsis or summary.  The premise of the movie is that a man has become selfish and his marriage is suffering because he isn't giving enough to his wife.  His father gives him a journal with a "love dare".  He has to do each step in order and do one step every day for 40 days, regardless of how he feels about it or how his wife responds.  He also can't tell her exactly what he's doing.  By the end of the movie this man has found a renewed selflessness and love for his wife. The book is based on this premise, and is an actual workbook for doing these 40 steps and renewing your marriage.

When the movie came out my wife and I bought it as a way to strengthen our marriage.  Not to sound perfect or cocky, but we quickly discovered that we already do most of the things in the book, so it wasn't as much use as we had hoped.  We don't have a flawless marriage, but we have a very strong and loving one.  So The Love Dare ended up in a pile of books to trade in at a used book store.

Until God inspired me today and laid a challenge on my heart.

If you read my last entry, you know that I'm looking at my walk with God and relationship with Him like I would a marriage.  Well, if the Love Dare helps to strengthen a marriage and bring two people together, why can't it help strengthen a relationship with God?

Sound crazy?


 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 
(Matthew 25:1-6)

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
(Mark 2:18-20)

The Bible compares Jesus to a groom and the church (i.e. the people who are believers) as His bride.  So it's actually Biblical to look at our relationship with God as a marriage.  And that's what I'm going to do. 

Beginning tomorrow I am going to start a love dare in regards to my relationship with God.  Every day for 40 days I am going to follow the steps in The Love Dare and direct them towards God.  Each day I will chronicle my journey here, and we'll see where this takes us.  Honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen, especially in some of the steps that are expressly directed towards a flesh-and-blood relationship.  But I'm excited to see what may happen.

Anyone want to take this journey with me?