{"id":4802,"date":"2025-08-08T07:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T11:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4802"},"modified":"2025-08-08T07:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T11:55:08","slug":"aneu-apart-from-the-will-of-your-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/08\/aneu-apart-from-the-will-of-your-father\/","title":{"rendered":"ANEU: “Apart from” the Will of Your Father"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u00a0Each weekday in the month of August, we will pursue \u201cprepositional truth\u201d by zeroing in on a single Greek preposition in a single verse, noting the theological richness so often embedded in the humble words we so often overlook.\u00a0<\/em>

In 1852, a resident of New York City, feeling homesick for his native England, came up with what can only be described as a wacky idea.

He resolved to introduce to America all the birds mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare.\u00a0\u00a0

Six to eight mated couples of each species were trapped in England and transported across the Atlantic.\u00a0Shortly afterwards they were released in New York City.

Most of the birds vanished, never to be seen again.\u00a0But one of the species took a look around North America and said, “This will do very nicely, thank you.”

It was known as the Weaver Finch.\u00a0If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s far more common designation is the House Sparrow.\u00a0

Those dozen original birds became so prolific that today the House Sparrow is on the Least Concern list (along with Starlings, Crows, and Pigeons).\u00a0While the Endangered Species list calls our attention to creatures that are at the edge of extinction, those ubiquitous little gray, brown, and white birds will almost certainly be with us for a very long time.

They aren’t called “house” sparrows for nothing.\u00a0They seem to cherish proximity to humans, which is why we are so often treated to their incessant chirping.\u00a0There\u2019s currently a nest crowded with two-week-old sparrows just above our garage.

During Bible times the poorest people in the land would trap sparrows and sell them for food. Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?\u00a0Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from<\/u><\/strong><\/em> [ANEU<\/strong>] the will of your Father… So don’t be afraid.\u00a0You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

What’s interesting is the variation of Jesus’ words as reported by Luke: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?\u00a0Yet not one of them is forgotten by God” (Luke 12:6).

Here we have an insight into the first century marketplace.\u00a0Two sparrows were sold for one assarion <\/em>(most translations call it a “penny”), which was the humblest coin in ancient Israel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

Yet five sparrows were sold for two pennies.

In other words, if you bought sparrows in bulk, the fifth one was thrown in for free.\u00a0The fifth sparrow was worth so little that it was nothing more than a lightweight, feathered incentive to hand over two pennies instead of one.\u00a0\u00a0

But Jesus couldn’t be more clear: Every sparrow matters.\u00a0“Not one of them is forgotten by God\u2026\u201d \u201cNot one of them falls to the ground apart from<\/u><\/strong><\/em> your Father\u2019s will.\u201d

What does the Greek preposition ANEU<\/strong> mean in this context? Some scholars opt for, \u201cNothing happens to God\u2019s humblest creatures apart from God\u2019s knowledge<\/em>.\u201d Others suggest, \u201capart from God\u2019sconsent<\/em>.\u201d Still others prefer, \u201capart from your Father\u2019s expressed desire<\/em>.\u201d It may be wisest to combine all three of these senses.

In his book Prepositions and Theology<\/em>, NT scholar Murry Harris observes:

\u201cIf God as creator knows about and consents to the death of one of his apparently insignificant creatures, how much more is God as an all-knowing Father concerned about his infinitely more valuable children, especially when they face death by martyrdom.\u201d\u00a0

In other words, if God cares that much about the fifth sparrow \u2013 which is thrown in merely as a rebate \u2013 think how much he cares about you.\u00a0<\/em>

That’s the background to a hymn that sprang from a conversation in 1905.\u00a0A Canadian-born songwriter named Cavilla D. Martin was visiting the Doolittles, an invalid couple in Elmira, New York.\u00a0She was moved by their simple happiness and deep hopefulness despite their physical limitations.\u00a0When asked the secret of their joy, Mrs. Doolittle replied with a smile, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”

Martin transformed that single line into a song that has become one of our most cherished expressions of trust, especially in the African-American community of faith.\u00a0\u00a0

Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blount reached back to their gospel roots to provide this heartfelt rendition:\u00a0Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blount – His Eye Is On The Sparrow lyrics<\/a>

You may be uncertain about many things today, but one thing you can know for sure: God is fully aware of what you’re up against.\u00a0\u00a0

God knows what’s keeping you up at night.\u00a0He knows what’s making you feel overwhelmed. God knows what is breaking your heart, what\u2019s making you hesitate to make an appointment to see your doctor, or making you clench your fists.\u00a0

Nothing in your life happens apart from<\/u><\/strong><\/em> his care and his providence. \u00a0

Which is something we can all bring to mind the next time we hear House Sparrows chirping enthusiastically just outside our front doors.\u00a0 \u00a0
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here \u00a0Each weekday in the month of August, we will pursue \u201cprepositional truth\u201d by zeroing in on a single Greek preposition in a single verse, noting the theological richness so often embedded in the humble words we so often overlook.\u00a0 In 1852, a resident of New York City, feeling homesick for his… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[975,976,351],"class_list":["post-4802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gods-care-2","tag-insignificance","tag-providence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4804,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802\/revisions\/4804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}