The Touch of the Master’s Hand

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I once read about a concert violinist who announced that he would play an expensive $20,000 violin at a music hall. That night, the building was filled to capacity, the audience anxious to hear the prized violin. When the concert was over, the thunderous applause and standing ovation was interrupted as the violinist threw the violin on the ground and stomped it to pieces. He then walked off the stage. There was a moment of stunned silence.

In a matter of seconds, the stage manager announced on the loud speaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, to put you at ease, the violin that was just destroyed was a $20 violin. The master will now return to play the remainder of his concert on the $20,000 instrument." 

The obvious point is: It’s not the violin that makes the music; it’s the violinist!

We are like $20 violins that the Master transforms into priceless instruments for His glory. He takes the raw material of your life and, through teaching and experiences, shapes you into the servant He wants you to be. 

For the longest time I kept a copy of this poem in my first Bible. It was a reminder that God can transform any life and make it an instrument of worth.

'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 forward 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 Masters 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 Masters' Hand.

- by Myra Brooks Welch

In God’s hands you can be a precious and effective instrument.

Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that’s what I had in mind for you.”  Jeremiah 1:5 (The MESSAGE Paraphrase)