Such is family…

I have always been a Christian, if that is indeed possible, and church has always been very much an extension of my wider family life. Sunday school teachers would faithfully, and with much pleasure, relate how difficult a child I was. Others show perpetual surprise at how much I have grown, finding it necessary to remind me every single time how tiny, and painfully, how cute I was. What can I say, such is family.

I have always been a Christian, if that is indeed possible, and it strikes me how the relationship I have with my parents provides an excellent analogy to how I have related to God over the years. When I was younger, I believed rules to be the only important feature of family life – for example, ‘Matthew! Stop stabbing your brother with that mechanical pencil!’ or ‘Matthew! I told you not to walk into that construction site bare-footed; see what happens...’ The problem with this view of family life is not in the rules themselves, but in the narrow way I had defined the whole of family life. Fortunately, maturity did not stop there for the persistent love of my parents showed me that the essence of family life is actually about giving – and receiving. In an East-Asian family, love is not spoken of as much as it is demonstrated. This lesson was recently learnt yet again when I found myself receiving from my parents the full amount of my tuition fees with this reminder: ‘Matthew! You are our son, pay it forward’. What can I say, such is family.

I have always been a Christian, for with God this has been possible. And it is good my Sunday school teachers remind me how difficult a child I was, for that only deepens the love I now have for my forgiving parents. Sonship teaches you many things, and for me, it was to learn ever increasingly the depths of my parents and the generosity of the God they reflect. This short thanksgiving is therefore a tribute to them; but ultimately, it is a tribute to the heavenly Father they taught me to love as well. What can I say, such is family.