Risen Series

Video Transition – song “I can only Imagine.”

Video trailer for the movie!

The rest of the story is about the song.

I watched this movie Monday night and remembered watching it in a movie theater and it is bringing tears to my eyes as I keep watching. The back story on this song is amazing. Bart the writer of the song, said “He wrote his song in about 10 minutes” Amy Grant called him on this and said but it took you a lifetime to write it Bart - this amazing song centers in on the moment when we crossover to the afterlife and meet Jesus face to face. The question proposed is what will we do in that pinnacle moment of time. This song was written and dedicated to Bart’s dad who had recently passed away. Without knowing the backdrop behind the song, you would have assumed that Bart had a great lifelong relationship with his dad. But that was not the case in his many drawings he pictures him as a monster.

I watched this movie on Monday, and the tears just started flowing through it again. When the movie first came out, I was estranged with my dad, and it had been that way for most of my life with him. I really hated my dad as a child and teenager. He was cruel, psychotic, violent, a green-eyed monster, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. He was a wife abuser and child abuser. I saw my dad get into so many fights with my mom, others, his mother and brothers, people at work and people on the street. Trust me, you could not have imagined how bad he really was.

The movie reveals to us How the Lord can take a monster like Barts dad filled with anger, bitterness, rage, demons and transform them into a person you could embrace, love and connect with. Bart and his dad mended their relationship by the intervening power of The Holy Spirit. Bart had left vowing never to return but in the struggle of trying to get a music contract he was led back home to his dad. It comes out Bart’s dad had prayed God would send him back home so he could make amends. Why because he had given his life to Jesus. He had also been diagnosed with terminal cancer. After spending a few months with his dad, Arthur died and Bart started to imagine what it would be like for his dad to meet Jesus in Heaven. He looked into his notebook of song ideas and ended up writing this song, “I can only imagine.”

“I can only imagine” is a movie revealing the story of Bart Millard who had the same kind of dad that I had. That’s why the movie affected me so much when I first viewed it. At the end of the movie the first time I had prayed God would do something similar with me and my dad – and can you imagine he did!

The story line is the Gospel – how Jesus transforms peoples lives. Bart saw it in his own dad and I saw Jesus transform my dad at the end of his life. When you see a life transformed, redeemed it speaks volumes of How Jesus can bring anything back from the dead any person or thing.

The song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe was written by Bart Millard, inspired by his father's transformation from an abusive person to a man of faith and by his father's death from cancer. Millard wrote the song after seeing his father's character change and after his death, reflecting on what it would be like to be in heaven and meet Jesus - God.

Here's a more detailed look at the backstory to the song:

• Abusive Father:

Millard's father was emotionally and physically abusive during much of his childhood.

• Father's Transformation: Salvation came through radio broadcast of a church were Bart sang.

Millard witnessed his father's transformation from a "monster" to a passionate believer in Jesus, especially during the years following a cancer diagnosis.

• Father's Death:

Millard's father passed away from cancer, and the song was inspired by Millard's reflections on what it would be like to meet God in heaven.

• Song's Meaning: The song's lyrics explore the idea of what it might be like to be in heaven, with the imagery of meeting God and experiencing His presence.

• The movie "I Can Only Imagine" tells the story: The film, based on Millard's life, details the abuse, the father's transformation, and the song's creation.

? Lyrics – listen to the Words Bart penned

I can only imagine

• What it will be like

When I walk by Your side

I can only imagine