I remember a worship song I used to sing and it starts off with, “When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come, longing just to bring, something that’s of worth, that will bless your heart.” It’s a beautiful song and it’s written by Matt Redman. The song is about getting back to the “heart of worship.” It’s about stripping away what’s not important and investing deeply in your relationship with God.

At the end of the day, God longs to be intimate with us. He wants us to draw close to him. It’s the primary purpose for which we were created. Behind all the theology, all the Bible study, all the prayer and religious activity, the bottom line is relationship. That’s why Jesus summed up all the Law and Prophets with two commands…(Matthew 22:37-39)

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love. That’s what it’s about. Such a relational call. God didn’t say that first and foremost he wanted servants and dutiful children. He wants love. He wants our hearts. In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah and pointed out the major problem with many of the religious leaders of his day. He said, “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”

Let’s not miss this. In the midst of all of our great religious activity and rule keeping, let’s not miss the main point. When the music fades and all is stripped away, what are we left with? A genuine relationship and connection with God, or a hollow and distant connection to a set of rules and traditions? God wants our hearts desperately. He paid the ultimate price to win them. How are you responding to him?