God's Love and Christian Love

The Bible truly contains the world's greatest love story. God's plan for the salvation of humankind culminates in God himself coming to earth, taking on the lowly form of a first century Jew named Jesus, and suffering an innocent death to pay the debt of sin for all people, thus satisfying his own requirement for justice.

Why would God do this when he could have simply wiped out his sin-tainted creation and started over? Jesus gave this statement of explanation to Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Christian love, which was first demonstrated by God through Jesus, is so important that Jesus explicitly commanded that it be reflected by those who believe in him.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

The Apostle Paul further defined the concept of Christian love in his letter to the church at Corinth. Note that love is described not as feelings, but as actions.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.