Love and Obedience

Often, when Christians think about loving God, they think of spending sweet time with Him in their devotions or worshipping Him through song in their church.  Occasionally, someone will remember Christ’s statement, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  But did you know that there are no less than 18 verses of Scripture which directly correlate love with obedience?  This correlation has many applications in our walk with the Lord as well as in other areas like parenting and leadership.  There is much that could be said about this correlation, but let me just present the list itself, and see if any interesting conversations develop:

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Exod. 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
 
Exod. 20:10And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
 
Deut. 7:9  Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
 
Deut. 11:1  Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
 
Deut. 11:13  And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deut. 11:22  For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
 
Deut. 19:9  If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:
 
Deut. 30:16  In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
 
Jos. 22:5  But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
 
Neh. 1:5  And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
 
Ps. 119:127  Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
 
Dan. 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
 
Jn. 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.
 
Jn. 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
 
Jn. 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
 
1 Jn. 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
 
1 Jn. 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
 
2 Jn. 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
 
 What are your thoughts regarding this list?