“Bye, Chloe! I love you!” my friend shouted as he walked away.
“No, you don’t!” I yelled.
“I love you!” He repeated the words louder this time.
That time, I ignored him. I knew our further arguing would embarrass me more since he kept yelling louder and louder.
I wanted to be loved, of course. Who doesn’t? But as I was growing up, my parents did not show me love correctly. I don’t recall ever wondering if they loved me. I believed they did, but sometimes they didn’t say the words. At other times, they tossed the words around but with little meaning behind them. Therefore, I wasn’t used to saying the phrase often.
However, I love you never scared me until I went through a rough relationship. The words were paired with manipulation, or painful insults came in their stead. After that experience, hearing a person say they loved me sent me into fight or flight. And every time, I chose both. I fought their words, flying away from the possibility of love—all because I was scared.
Everyone knows that God calls us to love others, and that has never been something I struggled to do. I pour out of my cup, even giving of myself after the cup is empty. Yet I could not allow others to do the same. I had grown to feel unworthy of love. It made me uncomfortable because the thought lingered in the back of my mind that their words were not genuine.
God wants us to love and be loved. John’s words suggest a mutual love for each other. When we refuse to accept love from others, we often refuse to accept love from God.
We should let others bless us with their love, which God has called them to do. Even overthinking the sincerity in someone’s words can harm our relationship with them.
Do not allow yourself to reject love from others. God loved you so much that He died for you. Let others love you too.
Chloe Ballard is a young writer who gained experience through her professional writing major. She enjoys diving into deeper topics and soaking in the beauty of God’s creation.