Christian or not, most likely you've heard the song "I Can Only Imagine" on the radio.
What many have not heard, however, is the story behind the breakthrough hit from the band, MercyMe that would later become the best-selling Christian single ever to be released.
Growing up, I listened to K-LOVE every single morning on the car ride to school via my dad’s request. Little did I know, the chart-topping song from MercyMe (that I had heard hundreds of times) had a deeper meaning than the lyrics let on.
While I can’t say I was grateful for the Christian tunes early in the morning at the time, now many years later I am very grateful for the message my dad taught me through this radio station. Especially after seeing the type of childhood the MercyMe singer went through, I am even more appreciative of the loving home I was raised in.
The tagline of K-LOVE, “Positive & Encouraging,” sums up the message that viewers can get from watching the movie “I Can Only Imagine.”
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to see the movie myself, and I would recommend it to anyone!
Bart Millard, the lead singer of MercyMe and storyteller behind the song, had every reason to give up on his dream and to live a life full of hate. But he didn't.
His father told him multiple times that dreams do not pay the bills. Even when labels rejected Bart saying he was not quite good enough to make it in the music industry, Bart did not give up his dream.
Bart rose from the ashes and did something that most would never dare to do — share his story with the world.
Even after his mother left him and his dad was cruel, Bart found beauty in the world through his relationship with the Lord.
Instead of letting his abusive father's horrible habits overrule his life, Bart used the horrible situations to write songs that have since changed thousands of lives.
There is something to be said for finding the rose even amid thousands of thorns like Bart did, and we can all learn a thing or two from the movie “I Can Only Imagine.”
Whatever your struggle may be, whether it’s family issues like Bart, or something entirely different, we all have our own crosses to bear and we all go through challenging times.
The old saying you never know what someone is going through until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is so relevant and something that I feel many of us forget about when we are too quick to assume things about others when we really do not know their story at all.
Forgiveness is a difficult thing that is illustrated beautifully in this film. Rome wasn’t built in a night and neither is forgiveness when it's toward a person that has been harming you for many years.
Nonetheless, Bart proves it’s doable and something we should all strive to do no matter what the other person did — nothing is unforgivable in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.
