This week we've been talking about relationships and knowing when to help and when to back off, and about persevering in love and not turning away prodigals when they finally come back home. Well I think it's easy to get out of balance so I want to talk about how we help those who want help and how we persevere past rejection.
First, Jesus said we love others as we love ourselves. So we don't subject ourselves to abuse and iniquity in an effort to show another love. That's not love, love is not happy with evil but with the Truth. We cover sins and we forgive them, but we don't reward them.
Although we may persevere with people we still allow them to deal with the consequences of their choices. Like the prodigal son's father we let them go and let them come to the end of themselves on their own [Luke 15]. Imagine what would have happened if the father had been out there rescuing the son every time he made a bad choice. Lost all your money on prostitutes? Aww, here's some more money. No let people deal with the horrible consequences of their choices so they can truly become repentant. We deny them the opportunity to achieve real repentance when we interfere with the process. We keep praying for them and loving them but we don't reward them for bad behavior.
I've done a lot of family counseling and often grandparents who were raising their grandchildren would allow the parents to come in and out of the home while they were still on drugs or dealing with other problems. The grandparents thought they were helping their children but really they were just making it easier for them to be prodigals, and the grandchildren were 
suffering. I think the message God wants us to give people is "I love you no matter what, but I'm not going to help you do wrong." God takes us back when we choose Him. We have to come to that point of total surrender and recognition that we need God. God loves us all but it's His Sons that receive the inheritance.
Lord show us how to love and respect others while still loving and respecting ourselves. Give us discernment so we know when we're helping versus when we're interfering. Lord strengthen our love walk so we can love at all times. Remove our pride so we can welcome home prodigals, and give us wisdom so we won't welcome home those who haven't truly come home yet.
