God Doesn't Want Worship, He Wants Intimate Relationship

     Has anyone really stopped to consider that God doesn't actually want what we call worship? He doesn't want that distant ritualism mindset that keeps us separate from Himself. What God wants instead is intimacy and relationship with each one of us as a parent with their child. Even the greatest command to love Yahweh your God with everything you've got implies intimate relationship.  
     But the thing about intimate relationship is that it assumes a kind of equality between the two parties of the relationship in some way. Either the one must be brought up to the level of the other, or the other must descend to the level of the one in order for that intimacy to work. Everyone knows the pitfalls of being "unequally yoked" in some way, and how difficult it can make relationships, regardless of the type. There is always an understood barrier there be it social, class, financial, or intellectual.
     There's a reason that Jesus came, not as the conquering king demanding worship, but as, essentially, everyone's best friend and brother; the man who knew you intimately, and whose genuine care for you could be seen in His eyes, His speech, and His body language. The man who would tell you the truth because He cared, no matter how much it might have offended, because He genuinely wanted you to come home. The man who would never, ever give up on you.
     Religion has a habit of reinforcing those artificial barriers to intimate relationship with God because it takes what is known of God, of Jesus, of the Saints, of some bit of theology, and puts it on such a high pedestal as for the perception of it to become an idol to be loved, praised, and feared rather than fostering the intimacy and interaction with Yahweh Himself. The rituals can be a gateway to doing so, but they can more often than not become a barrier just as the Pharisees' own interpretations of the Torah became a barrier to actually recognizing Yahweh in the presence of Jesus Christ.
     What God wants is family, not subjugated slaves. He wants His prodigal children to return home to His arms, not to relegate them to the slaves in the fields.