No, he's saying that if we love what he is, we will obey Him. Since a major point of Christianity is being like Christ, this is a measure of devotion.
Does the passage preclude showing love through other forms, such as through faith?
Let me put this in a different context: when I married my lovely bride, I promised to honor and cherish her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others until we were parted by death. Now, if I show derision toward her every time I speak, cheat on her constantly and ditch her when she gets cancer, am i her loving husband? Am I showing her love because I have a piece of paper that says I'm her husband?
Works won't buy your way into Heaven, but as Rich Mullins once said, "Faith without works is like a screen door on a submarine." See the book of james for further clarification.
Okay, I think I may understand. I guess the confusion comes in because I am not seeing the "SHOULD" part as it relates to obeying God's rules. To me, it reads more like a prediction or a description than it does a justification. It also doesn't seem very universal.
Let's say that someone, maybe a Buddhist or an atheist, chooses not to love Jesus. Are they then justified in being indifferent to God's laws?