Who Is the Master?

Who Is the Master?

The story takes place in England a long time ago.
One day, many people were strolling leisurely along the Thames River in London. In one corner, an old beggar was playing a shabby violin to beg for money. But the sound coming from the worn-out violin was far from pleasant. As a result, he failed to attract the attention of passersby, and no one dropped even a single coin into the hat he had placed on the ground.

Suddenly, a foreigner—someone who had never met the beggar before—stopped walking and fixed his eyes on the old man, watching him play earnestly.

The old beggar wore tattered clothes and shoes with worn-through soles. His unwashed white hair was messy and disheveled, giving him a pitiful appearance. Feeling a surge of compassion, the foreigner walked up to the beggar and said:

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money with me. However, I do know a bit about playing the violin. Would you allow me to play a piece for you?”

The beggar handed the shabby violin to the stranger and took the chance to rest. The foreigner lifted the violin and slowly drew the bow across the strings. To everyone’s amazement, beautiful melodies began to flow from the battered instrument. Hearing the music, passersby stopped one after another, soon becoming completely captivated by the foreigner’s performance.

When the first piece ended, the crowd erupted into applause. When the second piece finished, many people were moved to tears. By now, a huge crowd had gathered. The beggar picked up his hat and walked toward the people. They reached into their pockets and dropped banknotes into his hat. In no time, the hat was filled—with large bills, not small coins.

Seeing the swelling crowd, the police rushed over, alarmed. But they too were soon enchanted by the beautiful music flowing from the old violin, staring intently as they listened. Even the policemen reached into their pockets and placed banknotes into the beggar’s hat.

Finally, the performance came to an end. Everyone applauded enthusiastically. Suddenly, someone in the crowd cried out:

“That man is Paganini—the famous Paganini!”

Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), an Italian violinist, is known worldwide as a violin prodigy, a master often called the “magician of the violin.”

That day, he happened to be in London for a performance. During his stay at a hotel, he took a walk along the Thames. On the way, he saw a poor beggar struggling to play the violin and was moved with compassion. So he played a few pieces for him. Paganini’s heart was truly beautiful—but we must think more deeply.

Although it was the same shabby violin, the sound it produced was completely different depending on who held it. When the beggar played it, the sound was unpleasant; but when Paganini lifted it and played, beautiful melodies came forth.

Our lives are the same. A life lived with ourselves as the master is utterly different from a life lived with God as our Master.

Psalm 137:1–2 records the story of the Hebrews who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept as they remembered Zion. It says they hung their harps on the willow trees. Their captors demanded songs from them, but the enslaved Hebrews refused and hung up their harps. They meant, “How can we sing? How can we play in such a situation?”

They understood why they had become slaves. It was because they had despised God. God abandoned the Israelites—who refused to live under their Master’s protection—and allowed them to be slaves in Babylon for seventy years. But when those seventy years ended and they returned, they carried a conviction in their hearts: “Because we despised God, we could not defeat our enemies.” For despising their Master, they lived seventy years as slaves in a foreign land.

After returning, the first thing they restored was their genealogy, making clear that the true identity of Israel was the people of God. First Chronicles chapter 6 records in great detail the genealogy of the Levites responsible for temple duties and sacrifices, even up to verse 81. They had learned through painful experience how important the priests and Levites—those who offered sacrifices to God—were.

In short, salvation means “changing masters.” Adam and Eve thought that if they became their own masters, they would be happy. They believed that possessing the ability to distinguish good and evil would give them the whole world. But humans, utterly powerless, did not understand the responsibilities of being their own master. As a result, they lost all peace in their hearts and became slaves to sin.

Repentance means “realizing that I cannot be my own master and acknowledging the Lord as my Master.”
In Exodus 21, the servant whose ear was pierced declared, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to go free.” Then his ear was pierced, signifying that he would live only for his master. This is true repentance.

May every reader meet the true Master and live a blessed life. 

主人是谁？

 

故事发生在很久以前的英国。

一天，很多人在伦敦泰晤士河畔悠闲地散着步。一个角落里，一位老乞丐拉着一把破旧的小提琴，以此行乞。但破旧的小提琴发出的音乐声显然差强人意。因此，老乞丐并未引起路人们的注意，也没人把铜钱扔进老乞丐脱下的帽子里。

忽然，一个路过的素未谋面的外国人停下了脚步，目不转睛地望着老乞丐认真演奏的样子。

老乞丐衣衫褴褛，履穿踵决，一头没有梳洗的白发乱蓬蓬的，看起来甚是凄凉。于是，起了恻隐之心的外国人走到老乞丐跟前，说：

“老人家，真是抱歉，我身上没带什么钱。但我也略懂琴艺，可否替您演奏一二？”

老乞丐便将破旧的小提琴递给了这位陌生的外国人，自己抽空休息了一下。外国人拿起小提琴，开始慢慢拉起了琴弓。此时，破烂不堪的小提琴中竟然响起了美丽的旋律，甚是惊奇。听到音乐声的路人们陆陆续续地停下脚步，很快便陶醉在外国人演奏的音乐声中。

第一首曲目结束后，人群中爆发出热烈的掌声；第二首曲目结束后，人们流下了感动的泪水。此时，演奏现场已然是人山人海。老乞丐拿起自己脱下的帽子，走向了人群。人们从口袋里掏出纸币，扔进了老人的帽子里。不一会儿，帽子里就装满了纸币。人们放进帽子里的并非一分两分的铜币，而是大数额的纸币。

看到蜂拥而至的人群，警察大惊失色，赶紧冲了过来。但警察也很快陶醉在破旧的小提琴发出的美丽旋律中，目不转睛地欣赏着演奏。警察还从口袋里掏出纸币，放进了老乞丐的帽子里。

演奏终于落下了帷幕。在场的所有人热烈地鼓起掌来。突然，人群中有一个人失声叫道：

“此人便是帕格尼尼，就是那个闻名遐迩的帕格尼尼！”

意大利的尼科罗·帕格尼尼（1782~1840）是一位广为人知的小提琴天才，是号称“小提琴魔术师”的世界级小提琴大师。

那天，此人刚好来伦敦进行表演。在酒店逗留期间，他抽空来到泰晤士河畔散步。途中，他见到一个可怜的老乞丐费力地演奏小提琴，不由得动了恻隐之心。于是，他替老乞丐演奏了几曲。小提琴大师帕格尼尼的心灵真是美丽。但我们需要更深入地思考一番。

同样是一把破旧的小提琴，但根据演奏者的不同，其发出的声音也大不相同。当老乞丐进行演奏时，小提琴的声音不堪入耳，但当小提琴被帕格尼尼的手拿起并演奏时，美丽的旋律便响了起来。

我们的生活也是如此。我们自己作为主人所过的生活，与神作为我们的主人所过的生活，两者不可同日而语。

《诗篇》137篇1~2节中记载了在巴比伦的河边，因追想锡安而哭泣的希伯来人的故事。这里说，他们把琴挂在了柳树上。掳掠者让沦为俘虏的希伯来奴仆唱歌，他们却断然拒绝，还将琴挂在柳树上。他们的意思是，在这样的处境中，他们怎能歌唱，怎能弹琴。

他们知道自己为什么沦为奴仆。因为他们轻视了神。神撇弃了拒绝在主人的保护之下生活的以色列，让他们在巴比伦作奴仆70年。但他们结束70年的奴仆生活回来时，他们里面树立了“因为我们藐视神，才无法战胜仇敌”的心。因为他们藐视主人，所以在异国他乡当了70年的奴仆。

回来之后，他们最先整理的是族谱，想以此明确以色列人的根本身份是神的百姓。《历代志上》6章中用很大篇幅详细记载了负责圣殿事务和祭祀的利未人的族谱，直到81节。因为他们切身感受到了负责向神献祭的祭司和利未人有多重要。

总而言之，得救就是“更换主人”。亚当和夏娃觉得自己成为主人就会幸福。他们以为具备能分别善恶的能力，就能得到全世界。但毫无能力的人类成为自己的主人，连自己要承担什么样的责任都不知道，就失去了心中的一切平安，沦为了罪的奴仆。

悔改就是“明白自己不能成为主人，而把主当作主人”。《出埃及记》21章中穿耳朵的仆人宣布说“我爱我的主人和我的妻子儿女，不愿意自由出去”，之后穿耳朵，只为主人生活，这便是真正的悔改。

希望读者能够遇见真正的主人，过上蒙福的生活。