Given to You

Most of us love our parents. Fewer of us are actually honoring them - and the gap between those two things is wider, and more quietly significant, than most of us have been willing to examine.Given to You is a contemplative reflection on the bond between parent and child - what it was designed to be, what the oldest words underneath 'honor' actually mean, and what it looks like when that bond is tended the way it was always meant to be. Drawing from Scripture, original language study including the Hebrew word kabed and the Greek timao, and the ordinary texture of everyday life, David A. Smith explores what it means to hold the people who were given to us first with genuine weight - and what is formed in us when we do.Written without shame or accusation, Given to You is for every generation navigating the sometimes complicated terrain of family - for the adult child who has let one parent become invisible, for the one who only calls when something is needed, and for the one who has simply let the relationship drift without meaning to.Also included: a complete Scripture reference guide covering eleven foundation passages with exegetical notes, original language study, honest engagement with the Gospel passages most commonly misread on this subject, a discussion guide for individual and group use, and a For Further Study reading list for those who want to go deeper.Ideal for personal reflection, small group study, premarital and marriage counseling, youth ministry, and pastoral settings.