I would like to tell you a story this morning. It’s not a
story I made up. I saw it in a tv show once and liked it so much I did a little
digging. I found that the show was based on a poem by Myra Brooks Welch. It was
the message that caught my interest so I would like to give it the biblical
significance it deserves. The story goes something like this…
A gray bearded old man selects the choicest pieces of wood
and carefully shapes them to fit together perfectly. He binds together the
finest horsehair to fashion a bow. He chooses the highest quality strings and
carefully tunes them into a new violin.
The violin is given to his grandson who practices with it
for a while but soon loses interest in favor of his friends. The violin is
forgotten and tossed aside gaining a nick or two along the way.
After a while it is sold to a neighbor who had several
children who used the violin for purposes other than it was made for. Strings
were broken when used to launch the bow across the room. The horsehair frayed
and thinned. Eventually the children lost interest and the violin was stored in
the attic until sold to a pawnshop.
Now the pawn shop dusted it off, gave it some new strings,
and restrung the bow. Then put it in the window to sell. Where it sat,
unwanted, days turning into months turning into years. Eventually the pawn shop
went out of business and all its wares went to auction.
It is at this point in the story that I would like to give
tribute to the poem by Myra Brooks Welch by adding it in its entirety:
‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin, but he held it up with
a smile.
“What am I bid, good people, “he cried, “Who starts the
bidding for me?”
“One dollar, one dollar, do I hear two?”
“Two dollars, who makes it three?”
“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,”
But, no,
From the room far back a gray bearded man came forth and
picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin and tightening up
the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet, as sweet as the angel
sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer with a voice that was
quiet and low,
Said, “What now am I bid for this old violin?” as he held it
aloft with its bow.
“One thousand, one thousand, do I hear two?”
“Two thousand, who makes it three?”
“Three thousand once, three thousand twice, going and gone,”
said he.
The audience cheered, but some of them cried, “We just don’t
understand,”
“What changed its worth?”
Swift came the reply, “The touch of the Master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.'
A wonderful show based on a magnificent poem. I identified
with it, you probably did too. What does it teach us about God, our
relationship to Him, and what He does in our lives?
