Love and obedience
Jesus’s own relationship with the Father is rooted in a love which leads to glad and willing obedience. He expresses this clearly when he says of his impending death that “the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what the Father has commanded me” (14:31). This was the reason why he came into this world – to do the will of his Father (6:38; Heb.10:5-7).
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So it’s no surprise that if we want to be in Jesus just as Jesus is in the Father then love and obedience will likewise be the key. Jesus has already said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (14:15) and almost immediately he emphasises this again (21). Obedience is the mark of true love, but it is more than that, for through obedience prompted by love (not by duty) we will have a deeper experience of the love and the knowledge of both the Father and the Son.
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God’s love towards us isn’t earned or increased by obedience – the Father already loved the Son perfectly before his obedience even to the point of death, yet Jesus could still say, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life” (10:17). The Father’s love isn’t earned by what we do, but it is experienced most clearly by loving and obedient hearts.