Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the
things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow
all the words of this law.
Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644, and established his
shop in Cremona, Italy, where he remained active until his death in 1737.
Stradivari made harps, guitars, violas, and cellos--more than 1,100 instruments
in all, by current estimate. About 650 of these instruments survive today.
No modern violinmaker has been able to replicate
Stradivari's work. The violins of Stradivari's time were treated with a varnish
made from the resinous material of any of a number of possible plants. It is
not known what method Stradivari used to cook the resin (or for how long he
cooked it), but its translucent sheen lent to the violins a robust whiskey
color and may have also enhanced the wood's ability to echo sound so clearly.
We can measure the instruments' varying lengths (a little
more than 14 inches), depths (about 11/4 inch), and width. Even a marginally
talented copyist can make a violin with the specs of a Stradivarius. Yet no one
has been able to make an instrument that yields the extraordinary tonal quality
of a Strad.
Stephanie Chase is a world renown violinist who has said:
"Because the perfection of a Stradivarius has never been matched by
another maker past or present, it makes you think we must be missing
something... Which leads us to the fact that there must be a higher concept,
some overriding principle that he abided by that we just have not been able to
understand."
If we cannot understand how to replicate a violin, how
can we possibly understand the mysteries of God?
Dear Lord, thank You for those things You have revealed
to us. Give us the wisdom to continually seek after all that You have for us.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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