How we see ourselves in light of another is fascinating. Given what I know about where my foster son has come from, I look forward to what he can become. But when I look at my foster son’s face, I realize the things in myself that I wouldn’t want him to model after. When I picture my foster son doing life with me, watching me, following me, and learning from me, everything I do feels weightier. By “do,” I include actions, choices, pursuits, attitudes, expressions, etc. The things that I wouldn’t want to be true in my foster son’s character or life shouldn’t be true in mine. It’s rare that sin doesn’t hurt anyone else but yourself. Hurting yourself should be reason enough to deal with your sin. But when sins affect others intimately involved in your life, there is all the more reason to decisively deal with those sins before God’s throne of grace. I can’t be a perfect man, but I can be a man committed to redemption and transformation.
The kind of man Peanut would become would be a beautiful story of redemption. As I picture the man my foster son would become, I’m compelled to picture the man I must be.
Brian See Chan 