What does God require of me when I love a prodigal?

Micah 6:8 “…what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly…”
“Do right " till the stars fall from the sky " do right.” Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.

If I want God’s blessing on my life, if I want Him to hear my prayers, to reach my prodigal, and to heal my
broken heart, it might be a good idea to ask myself what God expects from me. According to Micah 6:8, God
doesn’t really expect that much, but one thing He does expect is that I will “do justly.” What does it mean to
“do justly?” I think it means simply to do the right thing to the best of my ability. That’s not complicated. Or
is it?

If your life is in chaos because someone you love is acting out, it’s easy for those lines to get blurred.
That’s especially true if we start comparing what we do with what our prodigal does because most of us look
pretty good in that comparison. But I don’t think God puts qualifiers in place when He says we are required to
do what’s right. As soon as I realize it’s not about me and another person…only about me and my God, I’m ready
to begin. And, the first thing that comes to mind about doing the right thing is to ask myself where I am in my
relationship with that God.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen godly, Christian wives separate from their alcoholic husbands
only to begin to act out themselves, and usually the first thing to go is their church attendance. Anger tends
to do that. I’ve also lost count of the times someone has dropped out of church because their family is in a
mess or because they’ve had to file for divorce or because their son was arrested. I understand the stress and
the pain; I even understand the shame, even though it’s undeserved, that goes along with those things. I’ve
been there too, and I’ve experienced some of those things.

But dropping out of church? Walking away from your God and the hope He can bring to your desperate situation? That probably isn’t doing the right thing. I can’t begin to tell you how many times God has met the need of my

heart through the singing or the preaching or what a welcome haven that altar was during the invitation at my church. But I can’t get that if I’m not there. While I know attending my church faithfully isn’t the only way to

keep that relationship with God right, it’s a start. (Heb 10:25) And if I’m sad or depressed or angry, I don’t stay away. I remind myself that church is a hospital for hurting people, not a museum for saints.

I could tell you a lot of stories about husbands who have trusted Christ because of their wives’ faithfulness or prodigals who came home because of the consistent lives of the people who loved them, but that’s not what

faithfulness is about. Being faithful is about doing the right thing myself because Jesus gave everything for me, because He is worthy, and because it’s what God expects from me. Period.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today and without considering anyone or anything else, take a look at your relationship with the God who loves you?