Love for Jesus Christ is a sign that a man is saved and that he has received something from Jesus Christ, mainly forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation from sin is a transaction in which one is forgiven their sins and brought into conscious communion with God. With this transaction comes assurance, a certitude, and a confidence of one’s salvation by the Spirit deep inside man’s private sanctum of his being (Rom. 8: 16).

Love originated with God. God loved us first when we were still lost hell-bound sinners and then when we got saved, we came to love Him (Romans 5: 8; 1 John 4: 19). There is no greater expression of love than that of Jesus giving His life to save lost, undeserving and often time unthankful sinners.

The phrase “I love you” has fallen into misuse. It has become so widely used that it lacks the corresponding reality to give it real meaning. We say, “I love my truck” and “I love my dog” with the same devotion that we say, “I love God.” Its connotations have become many, and its original meaning almost completely lost. The word “love” is part of the Divine language. God is love and the word “love” originated with Him.

The New Testament has several words for love: eros or erotic, for sexual love; storge, for family affection; philia, for friendship between man and man or woman and woman; philanthropia, for humanitarianism; agape, for the Christian love.

Agape love is the love that God showed through giving His Son Jesus Christ. It is a sacrificial love. A love that the one loved doesn’t deserve and may not appreciate and may not accept or respond to. God’s love and mercy and forgiveness are daily being rejected and scoffed at by unbelievers.

The greatest example of human love is a man laying down his life for his friend — “Greater love hath no man (mortal) than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15: 13). But God’s love is seen by Him laying down His life for His enemies — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us . . . For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5: 8-10).

Christians are to love their enemies as God does. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you” (Luke 6: 27). Christians are to love one another, and this love is a mark of a Christian and by this love the world knows we are Christians — “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13: 35).

This agape love is called charity. Its activities and characteristics are described in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13. No matter how gifted one may be if they lack charity they are nothing. Charity is a sign of spiritual strength and maturity. It takes a strong person to love like Jesus loves — “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness” (Col. 3: 14).