Happy Friday! This day is particularly special and exciting because it is the release date of the third TATBILB movie, Always and Forever, Lara Jean. I’m so excited to watch it tonight! For now though, here’s a Fandom Nugget inspired by the “love is scary” quote from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Enjoy!
Fandom: “Love’s scary: it changes; it can go away. That’s part of the risk. I don’t want to be scared anymore.” Lara Jean Covey
Verse: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18
Nugget: As we gain a deeper understanding of God’s love, we become less afraid of the risk involved in loving Him.
Lara Jean’s Fantasy World
I relate so much to Lara Jean (the main character of the series) because I’ve lived the fantasy life that she leads for most of the series. Until recently, and even now if I’m honest, I’m more comfortable imagining that I’m in love with someone (mostly fictional characters these days) than I am with actually participating in a relationship with a real person.
This type of thinking is what led Lara Jean to write the infamous love letters to her different crushes, which were never supposed to cause any type of impact beyond what went on in her own thoughts and emotions. As the series progresses, Lara Jean begins to learn how to deal with the risk and reward of having a real relationship, overcoming her fears in the process.
Want more TATBILB inspiration? Check out this post for a bullet journal theme and mood board!
Growing in God’s love means overcoming fear.
The same thing that happened to Lara Jean happens in our relationship with God. When I was a young believer, I was afraid of the consequences of disobeying God, and while I could lose myself temporarily in the idea of loving Him, the concept of living every day with Him and letting that relationship take over ever aspect of my life hadn’t sunk in yet.
As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve begun to understand who God really is. There is nothing to fear from Him; although He is just, His love and grace are so much deeper, and His first reaction always comes from a heart of compassion and mercy. Realizing this makes it easier to let my relationship with God guide and effect the rest of my life.
Loving God means letting go of control.
One of the reasons Lara Jean is so afraid of having a real relationship is that she can’t control what happens. Involving another person in what used to be a perfect, idealized fantasy is scary, to say the least. It causes conflict, uncertainty, and heartbreak throughout the series. But it also gives her so much greater reward than she would have gained by staying in her perfect fantasy world.
In the same way, choosing to love God and allowing Him to take over every aspect of our lives requires letting go of control. It means going out and spending time and money that we would prefer to keep to ourselves, because a friend needs us. It means surrendering our plans for the future and praying for guidance. And it means seeking to react out of a heart of compassion and mercy, seeing others the way God sees them, and treating them as such, regardless of how we feel.
God’s love will never change or go away.
In 1 John 4, God’s love is described as perfect. It will never change the way human love does. It doesn’t go away, no matter what we do. While Lara Jean fell in love with a different boy every year, and sometimes more than one at a time, God will never lose interest in us. His love is the one thing that is certain.
Knowing this helps us accept the risk involved in loving others. Because we know God will never withdraw His love from us, we can better extend love to others, even knowing that they might reject or hurt us. Because we know that God has loved us even when we ignored or mistreated Him, we can better love others in the midst of hurt. And because we know that God’s love is never-ending, we can overcome the fear of being left without love ourselves.
Love is scary. But the reward it brings is so worth it.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this post about the “love is scary” quote from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. If you did, please do me a solid and share with all your peeps using the graphic below. And let me know: Are you team Peter or Team John??
Happy fangirling!
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