It seems that God has interrupted my journey to teach me a few things.  Will you allow me a few moments to interrupt your journey?  Will you take a couple minutes from your busy travels to sit down and let me wash your feet?  Will you spend some time relaxing with me a the table of the Master?  Like the two men on the road to Emmaeus, my prayer is that during our conversation, your eyes will be opened and you will see Jesus.  Let me feed you and refresh you so you can continue your journey. 
For all of my life I have been in church.  I have been taught by some wonderful men and women of God.  However, what He has been revealing to me lately could only come from Him by inspiration of Holy Spirit.  True revelation must come that way.  Others can speak truth, but it must be revealed to you.  When asking His disciples who He was and when the right answer was given, Jesus replied that it was not revealed to them by flesh and blood but by His Father.  Jesus also says that you will know the truth and then the truth will make you free. Remember one of my favorite quotes…Truth has a bellybutton.  Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” 
All of my life, I have been instructed on the right things to do.  I knew the right things to do in church.  It’s not hard, once you’ve been there long enough, to learn what is expected of you.  For so many years I have had that same attitude towards God, many times doing the right thing for the wrong reason.  I’ve learned something lately tho…those things don’t impress God.
If you read about the religious elite in the Gospels, you will soon find that they knew everything that could be known in the natural about God.  They knew what to do and when to do it.  If that was God’s plan, then why send a savior?   If all that was necessary was to follow the ten commandments, then Moses finished the work.  Voila…mission accomplished and Jesus doesn’t need to die on a cross.  You and I know that it was not accomplished that way.  Let’s go back a few thousand years and see why not.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….and then He created man. After He created man, He said that it was not good for man to be alone.  So the masterful inventor formed Eve and called her woman…out of a man.  Things were great. Adam and Eve and God make three.  They had a beautiful garden to live in.  God would come down every evening and have dinner…well, at least talk.  I don’t know how long this went on but there was a disruption in the relationship.  Satan entered the picture in the form of a snake and convinced them that God didn’t really want to be their friend.  He just wanted to hold them back from becoming gods too.  And so, the relationship was broken and rules seemed to take the place of that relationship.
Moving up a few thousand years we find God choosing for Himself a people.  Through the Father of Faith, Abraham, whom God called His friend, we see Him once again try to establish a relationship with mankind.  So many times He says, “I will be their God and they will be my people.”  And of course once again we find those people turning their backs on Him and rules once again seemed to take the place of that relationship when God gives Moses the Ten Commandments.  During this time of Moses, we also see the unveiling of the Tabernacle, a moving structure that among many things symbolizes the progression of relationship that we can have with God. The final step was being right in the presence of God and not standing outside and merely being an observer.
As we move ahead a few thousand years more, a man by the name of Jesus enters our time and space.  A man who was physically born of a woman but was actually born of supernatural means.  This man claims to be divine and according to some, at times he acts mad.  Who could this man be?   In the fullness of time Jesus was born to a highly favored young woman. The Son of God puts on flesh and lives as a mere mortal.  In fact, scriptures say He emptied Himself of His privileges.  Why?  Because God wanted something more than what He had.  There was still a disconnection between God and man.  God wanted to be near His people.  Even the prophet of old said that He would be called Emmanuel…God with us. 
During His brief walk on this earth as a man, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is within you.  As He was ready to leave, He informs His disciples that He is leaving to prepare a place for us because in His Father’s house are many mansions.  I know you’ve heard plenty of songs about your beautiful new home in heaven, but I’m convinced He was talking more about us because later in the scriptures, Paul tells us that WE are the temple of God in which His Spirit abides.  WE are the desired dwelling place of God.  He chooses to make His home in these vessels of clay now, but He also has a better place waiting for us. 
Revelation 21:3 finally sums it up when God says, “Finally the tabernacle of God is now with man.”  God finally gets what He wants…to live with His people.  Do you see His heart?  My friend, can you feel the desire of God to live with you.  He wants you. 
I’ve learned through different relationships but especially with my father that when you mature and grow, your heart will be for the other person because you want to, not because you have to.  I serve God with passion because I love Him, not because I’m afraid of His wrath.  That’s not relationship…that’s rules.  And as Dr Randy Carlson says, “Rules without relationship equals rebellion.”  May I add that rules with relationship leads to intimacy. 
I pray that through this and ultimately through illumination of Holy Spirit, you will have a revelation of the heart of God for you.  He loves you so much.  His desire is to be with you.