I’ve always loved a good film, especially when that’s meant a trip to the cinema too. The big screen, a bag of sweets and (when feeling particularly self-indulgent) an ice cream.

(For some strange reason, popcorn has never been part of my cinematic experience).

I’ve watched some brilliant films over the years. I can still remember the first time I saw the Magnificent Seven for example. I was entranced. Schindler’s List has had a lasting impact on me as well as The Truman Show and Mamma Mia. I’ve watched films in plush cinemas in the West End and in far less exotic surroundings such as the Miners Institute in my hometown in Gwent, but whatever the location I have countless ‘memory making movie moments’ to savour.

I didn’t expect to be as captivated when I joined a group of friends in a church hall recently though. We were there to watch ‘I Can Only Imagine’, a film that details the background to Mercy Me’s bestselling song of the same name.

The film tells the story of lead singer Bart Millard’s relationship with his abusive father and how he finally forgave him and was reconciled to him in spite of the way he had been treated. This followed Millard’s discovery that his father was terminally ill and had also become a Christian, something he had initially refused to believe. As a result of all this the two finally formed a deep bond until his father died.

The lyrics of the song are hugely encouraging because Millard imagines what it would be like to be in the presence of Jesus. ‘Surrounded by Your glory What will my heart feel?’ he writes. ‘Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees, will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine’

These are powerful words indeed, and they capture something of the glory the apostle Paul must have envisaged when he wrote ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” It’s for this reason Christians can and do grieve but not without hope.

The song is also a helpful reminder that God is in the reconciliation business and that He can help us to really mean what we say when we repeat the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer. ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

I am so glad I went to that film night the other week. It gave me the opportunity to watch a film that will last long in the memory but will surely prove a lasting challenge. Oh, I nearly forgot to say: It also gave me the chance to eat some popcorn!