A Good Reason 美好的理由
Dexu Xia
Put [your] religion into practice by caring for [your] own family. 1 Timothy 5:4
The two women occupied the aisle seats across from each other. The flight was two hours, so I couldn’t help but see some of their interactions. It was clear they knew each other, might even be related. The younger of the two (probably in her sixties) kept reaching in her bag to hand the older (I’d guess in her nineties) fresh apple slices, then homemade finger sandwiches, then a towelette for clean up, and finally a crisp copy of the New York Times. Each hand-off was done with such tenderness, such dignity. As we stood to exit the plane, I told the younger woman, “I noticed the way you cared for her. It was beautiful.” She replied, “She’s my best friend. She’s my mother.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all say something like that? Some parents are like best friends. Some parents are nothing like that. The truth is those relationships are always complicated at best. While Paul’s letter to Timothy doesn’t ignore that complexity, it still calls us to put our “religion into practice” by taking care of parents and grandparents—our “relatives,” our “own household” (1 Timothy 5:4, 8).
We all too often practice such care only if family members were or are good to us. In other words, if they deserve it. But Paul offers up a more beautiful reason to repay them. Take care of them because “this is pleasing to God” (v. 4).
If your parents are still living, how would you describe your relationship with them? Regardless of what kind of job they did as parents, what are some ways you can take care of them right now?
Father, give me grace and mercy as I seek to care for those who cared for me. And help me to remember the reason I’m doing it.
叫[你们]先在自己家中学着行孝，报答亲恩。—提摩太前书5章4节
两位妇人分别坐在机舱内走道两旁的座位。飞行时间是两个小时，所以我坐在后面难免会看到她们的一些互动。她们很明显是互相认识的，甚至可能是亲属关系。其中较年轻的妇人（约六十多岁）不停从手提袋中拿出新鲜的苹果片递给较年长的妇人（约九十岁），还有自制的小块三文治，清洁用的小毛巾，最后是一份新的《纽约时报》。每个递交动作都是如此温柔，并带着尊敬。当我们站着准备离开机舱时，我告诉那位较年轻的妇人﹕“我注意到妳很关心她，真的很感人。”她回答说﹕“她是我妈妈，也是我最好的朋友。”
如果我们都能说出这样的话岂不是很好吗？有些父母就像是子女最好的朋友，有些父母却不然。事实上，关系始终是一个相当复杂的问题。保罗在写给提摩太的书信中并没有忽略这种复杂性，他仍然教导我们要藉着照顾父母和祖父母，意即我们的“亲属”和“自己家里的人”来实践信仰（提摩太前书5章4、8节）。
我们通常只会在家人对我们好的时候才关心照顾他们，换句话说，我们会考量他们是否值得我们这么做。但保罗为关顾家人提出了一个更美好的理由：“因为这在上帝面前是可悦纳的。”（4节）
若你的父母仍健在，你会如何形容自己与他们的关系？
无论他们是否履行职责，你现在能以什么方式关心他们？
天父，求祢赐给我恩典和怜悯来关顾那些爱护我的人，
并帮助我谨记这么做的理由：这是祢所喜悦的事。