*This article contains spoilers*

If you’ve ever listened to K-LOVE on the radio or stepped foot into a church in the early 2000’s, there’s no doubt you’ve heard the chart-topping song by MercyMe, “I Can Only Imagine.”

Now, the song has a movie telling the amazing true story of what inspired the song.

The movie follows the life of Bart Millard, the lead singer of MercyMe, who grew up in Greenville, Texas.

Throughout his childhood, Bart and his mother were verbally abused by his father. The movie starts by showing the struggles Bart faced as a child with only his mother there to lean on for support while his father would drink.

When he comes back home from a Christian camp one summer, he discovers his mom has left his dad. She was done with the yelling and drinking of his father. At this point of the movie, his father starts to physically abuse him and takes the anger of his mother leaving him out on Bart.

By the time Bart graduates high school, he is done with his dad and vows to never go back to that house. He goes off to college and works as a sound tech where he meets a band without a singer. He ends up joining them to be the lead singer and forming the band MercyMe, that is still popular today.

The band struggles for a few years to get a record label because the critics claim Bart doesn’t have what it takes to make it big.

With the help of his manager, Brickell, Bart decides to go back home to his dad and try to fix the hurt and pain his father caused.

While at home, Bart discovers his dad is a changed man and has been saved by God while he has been away. While Bart still wants nothing to do with his dad and tries to leave again, he discovers his dad is dying from pancreatic cancer. He decides to put the past behind him and forgive his dad just like Jesus forgave Bart.

By the end of the movie, Bart writes “I Can Only Imagine” for his dad to show everyone what the power of Christ can do.

Overall, this movie is a 10/10 and I highly recommend everyone to go see it.

I still remember being in church on Sunday mornings singing “I Can Only Imagine” at just six-years-old and to this day, it still gives me chills every time I listen to it.

This song and the story behind it will always remind me of the overwhelming, never-ending love that only one man can fill, and He’s not found here on this earth.

Here’s the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng