One of my New Year's resolutions is to begin to learn how to play Celtic (Scottish, Irish) music with a fiddle (what civilized folks call a violin). So I've ordered an inexpensive (but supposedly decent quality) violin on-line and this past week purchased "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing the Fiddle". The violin hasn't arrived yet so I've had some time to begin reading the book. I was struck with the evolution of the instrument, itself. The violin was a natural descendant of primitive stringed instruments in Europe. They got serious about refining the construction between the 1500's and the 1700's and a familiar master violin-maker, Stradivari (or Stradivarius) perfected things. The book tells us that no one has been able to improve the design since Stradivarius. Apparently they still don't know how he formulated some of the varnishes he used. The author points out that a violin must be light enough to resonate and transmit the music but strong enough to withstand forty pounds of pressure on the strings. The bow is an essential part of the violin and its design has also evolved from an archery bow-like form to the more maneuverable stick-like form it has today. Materials for the violin range from Mongolian horse hair for the bow, to Brazilian pernambuco wood, to European spruce and maple for the body. Perhaps you've guessed that the analogy that comes to mind is that we are God's instrument...His Heavenly fiddle. Though we are far from perfect, His design of the instrument is. He made us of the finest ingredients of the soil and our form was fashioned to be light, but strong enough to withstand the pressures of living (with His presence and help of course). He wanted to play music through us so He gave us a mind to respond to the vibrations of living as His sovereign bow played over our lives...daily pressures...victories to celebrate...problems to solve...changes to confront. But he wanted the music to resonate so He also gave us a heart, like the violin's body, to transmit the sound throughout our frame and outward. In a sense we are all playing the music of living. I believe our Lord wants to fiddle the mountain music of His home to draw others into the dance.
Isaiah 38: 20God saves and will save me.
As fiddles and mandolins strike up the tunes,
We'll sing, oh we'll sing, sing,
for the rest of our lives in the Sanctuary of God
As fiddles and mandolins strike up the tunes,
We'll sing, oh we'll sing, sing,
for the rest of our lives in the Sanctuary of God
blessings,
Rob Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment