elements intertwined

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).
 
Once again, Jesus ties together some major components of the doctrine He taught before His death and promoted through the apostles and believers who came after Him: keeping commandments and loving are totally intertwined.
 
Modern religious teaching sometimes elevates one above the other: it elevates the quality of love but decries the idea that obeying commandments is a part of our relationship with Him.
 
To maintain a relationship with Jesus and to realize the love of the Father, we are bound by Jesus’ words here to love Him and to adhere to the teaching provided in scripture.