There was once a musician who had an ebony flute with beautiful silver keys. Ebony, you know, is a kind of black wood, very hard, and often used in making musical instruments. But though this flute was very beautiful to look at, and gave out very soft, rich and sweet notes, it had one defect. One of the upper keys was broken so that it could not be used. When the musician was playing on his flute and came to this broken key, he always had to skip one note, which made a discord in the music.
The musician had a friend, a tailor by trade, who also was very fond of music, and often came to the musician’s room to hear him play. He also played a little himself on the ebony flute with the silver keys.
One night the tailor called to see the musician, but finding he was out, he figured out a way to get into his room and stole his prized flute. There was nobody there to see him, and so he felt sure that the secret of his wickedness would not be found out.
A day or two after, the tailor called on the musician again and pretended to be very sorry to hear of his loss. He said he wondered who could have been so mean as to steal it. He even accused an old woman who used to come to the house to sweep the rooms of having taken it, but no evidence could be proved against her.
Not long after the tailor moved away to another town. Here he could make free use of the stolen flute without the fear of his being discovered; and he did so. He had a bird of which he was very fond-a bullfinch, a bird something like a sparrow. It is quite common in England and the northern parts of Europe. It has a soft, pleasant voice, and when kept in a cage, can be taught to sing a variety of tunes.
The tailor used to spend a good deal of his leisure time teaching his bird different tunes by playing on the flute. But his bird could only learn by imitation and had to copy exactly the lesson that was played. In teaching the bird its music lessons from the flute, when the tailor came to the broken key, he always had to skip one note.
Well, after a while the musician had occasion to go on business to the town to which his former friend, the tailor, had moved. While he was there, he called on him.
To entertain him during his visit, the tailor brought in his beautiful bullfinch to show him and to let his friend hear the different tunes which he could whistle and sing. The musician was quite delighted to listen to the soft, sweet voice of the bird as he sung over one tune after another. But he soon noticed that as the bird raised its voice, it always skipped one particular note. Then he thought about his lost flute with the broken key. He found that the note the bird skipped each time was the very same note which he himself used to skip when playing on his ebony flute. The thought occurred to him that this bird had been taught to sing from lessons given on his flute. Then he felt sure that the tailor had stolen the flute.
The musician turned to the tailor. “This bird skips the very same note that my flute used to skip,” he said, “and now I know that you stole my flute.” The tailor was so taken by surprise that he confessed that he had stolen it. He gave the flute back to its owner and learned a lesson that day which he never forgot. “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
God can use the smallest of his creatures to work His sovereign will. We can hide nothing from Him. Sooner or later it will be brought to the surface. His Word says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:33The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3).
We were all born into this world in sin. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). If you are without Christ, you have death before you, and “after death the judgment;” and then the second death, which is the lake of fire. But if you know Christ as your Saviour, you have eternal life now; there will be no judgment for you because Jesus has borne it all for you upon the cross.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24).
ML-04/03/1977