Broken No More

One of the greatest ambitions of any violinist is to play a Stradivarius.  Meticulously handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari, these very rare violins produce an unrivalled sound.  So you can imagine the excitement of acclaimed British violinist Peter Cropper when, in 1981 London’s Royal Academy of Music offered him a 258-year-old Stradivarius for a series of concerts.

But then the unimaginable happened.  As Peter entered the stage he tripped, landed on top of the violin, and snapped the neck off.  I can’t even begin to imagine how Peter Cropper felt at that moment.  A priceless masterpiece destroyed!

Cropper was inconsolable.  He took the violin to a master craftsman in the vain hope he might be able to repair it.  And repair it he did.  So perfect was the repair that the break was undetectable, and, more importantly, the sound was exquisite.

The Academy was most gracious and allowed him to continue using the Stradivarius.  And so night after night, as Peter drew his bow across those strings, Peter was reminded of the fact that what he once thought was irreparably damaged had been fully restored by the hand of a Master craftsman. *

Created in the image of our Creator (Genesis 1:26-27), each of us has become marred and broken by our sin.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

But Jesus, the Master Craftsman, can make us whole again.  He died on the cross for our sins so that we can be cleansed from sin and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23b).

Jesus will cleanse and make whole those who place their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

Bring Christ your broken life,
So marred by sin.
He will create anew,
Make whole again.
Your empty wasted years
He will restore,
And your iniquities,
Remember no more.
-- T.O. Chisholm

Broken by sin, won’t YOU come to Christ in trusting obedience so that He can make you whole?

-- David A. Sargent

* “A Broken Stradivarius” in www.storiesforpreaching.com

David A. Sargent, Minister