Portraits of Grace: Albert Cheung

December 6, 2016
 / 
Norman Yung

Portraits of Grace is a snapshot into the lives of the people at King's Cross Church. As "kingdom minded, kingdom people," we recognize God's work in every detail of our lives. We invite you to meet the people of our church.

Photo by Minnow Park

Growing up, I never really knew my father. The evidence that he lived in the house was apparent. Glasses of red wine and the smell of cognac filled the dinner table. Dirty hands and body odor was indicative of a long day as an engineer in the MTA tunnels. We’d watch the Yankees on weeknights. Mariano Rivera on the mound. 9th inning, 2 outs. No response. No hellos or goodbyes when he left the house. When he passed away from cancer in 2005, I felt the loss of what could have been a fulfilling father-son relationship.

As I grew up, the problems of an aloof father began to impact the way I perceived Christianity and a God figure in my life. What did it mean to love and be loved by a Heavenly Father? How did God love the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, for me? I was always taken care of materially at home, but it always felt empty. And yet I had to move forward. I could grieve this emptiness forever, or trust that God gave me someone that was human and had flaws just like me, and that was perfectly alright. And while I truly love my late father and what he did for our family, God shows in Scripture how He has been that perfect Father that demonstrated ultimate love and sacrifice. This is the inspiration that will carry me to be a great father in the years ahead.

For these were Moses’s words to the Israelites in the desert: ‘The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.’

King’s Cross Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
For questions and information, please contact info@kingscrossnyc.org.