Notice the comparison of this verse with (14:15).

John 14:15  “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Jesus is speaking here of something much more than outwardly keeping His commands by an effort of our will and strength. It is the submission of our will and nature to His direction and it is accomplished by abiding in Him. It is the fruit of the branches dwelling in the Vine. Our hearts choose to obey Him because we love Him and desire to please Him. As we lovingly look to Him, it is easy to just walk in the way He instructs.

As we have seen before, remaining in His love results in obedience and now we are told that our obedience results in remaining in His love. This second aspect is true because it affects both Jesus and us.

If we obey, we enable Him to love us better. He already loves everybody and died for all sinners, but He holds us even dearer when we become His friends and family. He loves the sheep that has gone astray and will do anything to get it back, but He dotes on the sheep that follows in His footsteps, and gives it every good thing. Our obedience eliminates every blockade between His love and us. He can’t kiss a sheep that is running away from Him.

On the other hand, our obedience, when it is motivated by love and not by fear, makes us more capable of receiving His love and more conscious of doing so. (Maclaren) Again, but this time from our perspective, it eliminates every blockade between His love and us. As Maclaren notes, every rebellion against His will for us is like a dark cloud that comes between the sun and the earth. We can still see the light of the sun, but it shuts us off from feeling its warmth and from seeing it in all of its glory. Our disobedience or even our obedience for wrong motives, will keep us from fully experiencing the love of Christ.