By J. Wayne Kilpatrick
Heritage Place Church of Christ
An old musician, while going through an Italian city, came upon a boy in whom he recognized musical genius. Since the boy had no home, the old musician took him home with him and taught him how to play the violin. The years went by and the young man became a veritable master of music.
The time came when he was to go back to his old home town and give a concert in the town hall. Every ticket was sold days before the concert was to be given. And when the concert opened, every seat was taken and people were sitting in the aisles and standing around the walls. The young man came out to play his first number, and when he finished that number the people began to applaud. It seemed that the thunders of heaven were reverberating through the walls of the building. But the young musician did not seem to hear the applause. His eyes were fixed on some object in the last row of the topmost balcony.
In a few minutes the young man played again and when he had finished this time, not only did the applause rise up to greet him, but the people brought the fairest flowers of the land and cast them at his feet. Still the young musician did not seem to hear the applause nor to see the flowers. His eyes were still fixed on some object in the last row of the topmost balcony.
The last number of the evening was a melody so sweet and tender and haunting that the people wept as they listened to this marvelous music. As the concert ended, the women took their jewels from their fingers and the men took gold and silver from their pockets and threw it upon the stage for the young master of music. Yet he did not seem to hear the applause, or see the flowers, or notice the jewelry and the money. His eyes were still fixed on some object in the last row of the topmost balcony.
Who was there? It was his old master…the one who had taught him to play upon the violin. As the young man played, he seemed not to care for the applause or the flowers, the jewelry or the money. He was playing always and only for the approval of his master.
The world may cast its flowers at your feet. They world may heap honors upon you, but let me urge you always to lift your eyes above the world and to keep them fixed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Let everything you do be done for His approval. Then life will be sweeter and better for you. You will make a real contribution to the good of this old world, and at the end of the way you will hear Him saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”