A Day-by-day devotional

June 16, 2023

Luthier

Chronological One Year Bible Reading Plan: 2 Kings 12-15

Scripture of the Day: Jeremiah 18:1-6

For many years, I have played a guitar of quite an affordable price range. Our church did not have a guitar at that time. So, as part of our church music team, I would always play on that guitar until I got to finally purchase the guitar I dreamt to own. I first got my hands on this dream guitar when someone lent it to our church for use by the worship team. I love its resonant as well as clear sound quality. Within a few weeks, I became comfortable with it although the fretboard is much wider than that of mine. So, I later decided to buy the same, although a more recent model.

The guitar was handmade in Canada and is made up of high quality woods. It’s got solid cedar as top, Canadian wild cherry at the back and sides, maple at the neck, and rosewood for the fretboard. These wood combinations result to the lovely sound quality of the instrument. Primarily, it is the cedar that gives the clear, resonant tone. Meanwhile, my old guitar, made up of spruce, mahogany and rosewood, produces a much warmer tone.

With time, the wood ages and the sound quality, according to luthiers, becomes better. Moreover, the more an instrument is played, the more the woods open up, improving tone and sound. This is not only true for guitars but all other non-fret string instruments like the violin and cello.

The most famous luthier who ever lived was perhaps the violin maker Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy. His violins that are still in use today are worth millions of dollars.

All of us are high quality wood, crafted into the perfect acoustic string instrument by the luthier far greater than Stradivari. He fashioned us so well that we each have that potential to produce a unique sound.

It is true that the sound generated from any instrument does not solely rely on the woods that it is made of but how well the musician plays. The innate and inherent potential and ability, however, are already residing within the instrument. It is just waiting to be played by someone skilled enough to produce an awesome melody.

I have watched professional musicians who compared the sound of an under a hundred dollars instrument versus one that is worth thousands or millions. Although the instruments differ in their ability, limited by their inherent quality, the musicians were still able to produce a comparatively beautiful sound out of the instrument with the lower cost.

It is very rare to find a luthier who is not also skilled at playing the instrument. Most of the time, if not all, a luthier is also able to play the instrument that he builds.

Our Creator, God the Father, crafted us with His own hands. He fashioned us to be who and what we are. He is a master luthier. However, it does not end there. He is also skilled in making beautiful melodies and tones come out of us. He never sees us as an under a hundred dollars worth of instrument. He knows our inherent abilities, because He was the one who made us.

Therefore, even if the world or even our own selves, has put a low price tag on us, to God who knows us to the core, we would always be worth more than a million dollars. Him giving His very own Son to die on our stead is more than enough proof of how much He loves and values us.

Reflection: The next time you are at a tendency to think that you are never good enough, or that you don’t amount to anything, think again. Maybe, someone in your life has told you that over and over that you have come to believe it. The real score is, you are not that! You have been crafted by the Most High God. And He knows your worth. You should too!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by you. Help me see myself the way you see me. Amen.