How DOES one reconcile this?

Mat 22:37
Acts 9:31

The Love of God, and the Fear of God. There IS a reason why I'm picking on 2 NT entries, and that's primarily because some perhaps might think that the Fear of the Lord is some OT concept which is not appicable under the Covenant of Grace. Nup. The NEW TESTAMENT church lived in Fear of the Lord too.

In saying and learning about acceptance before performance but no without performance, in understanding that love should motivate why I do what I do. Where does fear come in?

Part of me says that this is one of those mystery before mastery but not without mastery things. That in part, I WILL have to accept that you serve the Lord out of fear AND love. That I will never quite ever be able to figure this concept in words to explain it clearly, and it's one of those things that just... IS.

Is it wrong to serve out of reverent respect for God, certainly not. Is it wrong to serve out of love, also not. So how DOES it happen? To be honest, I don't really know. The Greek word for fear used here is phobos, from which we get phobia. Now there might be an alternate meaning which is: reverence for one's husband. But honestly, Saul still falls smack down to the ground and calls out Lord. John in revelation does the same and this is the disciple that Jesus loved k, if ANYONE was a friend of Jesus, John was. And Jesus has to tell John, Don't be afraid (phobou).
There is something about GOD which you just will have to reverently respect. PERHAPS interestingly John actually doesn't cry out that he has unclean lips aka a few peeps including Isaiah. So I don't know. Maybe this: Just because you can boldly approach the throne of grace, makes it not less the throne of the MOST HIGH GOD. To have love for someone in no way means that it diminishes your respect for that person's authority and wisdom. In fact, if you love someone, and you know that person well, all the more you should hold respect and reverence for who they are and what they have done. The fact is, I hold the opinions of Mom, Dad and Karen higher because I love them, what they think matters to me. One way that love is shown IS to have respect for someone.

So... perhaps this, and I have no doubt I will have to come back to this post again and again since me human and me like to swing one way or the other between love and fear. Love not in the sense of just cuddles and sugar high love, and fear not in the sense of He's gonna scorch me to bits in His holiness and lightning and thunder and glowy scary eyes (which all Three Of Them probably have anyway), but... a mature love which knows and understands and respects Who He is. One which views Him as greater, and yet has come down to have great, great intimacy with us.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, help me in this. So often I put you in a box of how I should relate to You, sometimes not even giving You the due honor of relating multifacetedly with You. Please enable me to mature and grow in my relationship with all of You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.