Only the Brave with Paul McDonald and Dustin Oprea
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, I sit down with Dustin Oprea to talk about Only the Brave, a true story about the Granite Mountain Hotshots, wildfire firefighters from Arizona. We dwell on this line, “We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.” We only live to the identity we have received and we have embraced. How can this help us in our initiation and discipleship to become more like Jesus? Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
“We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.”
The movies I love puts words around things I experience in myself, what I know to be true.
People who love people deeply are willing to move towards them to understand what’s going on from their head to their heart.
All of our anger is sourced out of fear.
I can only live to the identity I have received.
If we’re honest with what God is leading us to, it will feel like death.
Themes
“We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.”
Eric still sees himself as an addict.
It’s easier to fight a fire than to engage in a meaningful conversation with his wife.
He doesn’t see his wife as the independent woman she has become.
Sees Brendan as a man who needs the fire to keep himself sober
Dismisses gratitude because he feels like he doesn’t deserve it
Only saw his worth as his job, so didn’t understand how Brendan’s identity had gone past that
Growth of Brendan in this movie
Has received his initiation, strength, training, guidance
Willing to fight for his daughter, be the man she needs
Owns up to mistakes, fights to get better
Receives the identity Eric has given him, and can pass it on to his daughter.
Chooses his daughter over his job
Amanda fights for her husband
I have been changed by you
Offers strength and vulnerability
“You are mad at him because he’s making a decision you’re too scared to make.”
She validates him even as she’s showing him the mirror.
Reflection of the heart of God pursuing people
Resources
“For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” - James 1:23-25 (NLT)
“Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing…God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” - James 1:2-4, 12 (NLT)
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” -Matthew 7:3-5 (NLT)
Brendan McDonough IG
Questions
In the top five movies that you love to watch, what common themes emerge? What do those themes reveal about who you are called to be?
When emotions flash, what’s behind that?
What do you run after to feel loved?
When do you feel like a bear on fire?
Who can you be open and honest with?
Who are you learning from?
Who do you want to be in ten years? How can you take steps in that direction?
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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