Juvenile Precocity

Scripture References: 1 Kings 3:7; Mark 14:51-52

The violinist played from memory Bernstein’s “Serenade for Violin and String Orchestra,” with the maestro himself conducting. Suddenly, her E string snapped. She calmly borrowed the Stradivarius of the concert master and resumed, only to break a second E string moments later. She once again borrowed from the concert master, who had himself borrowed from another musician. With her third instrument the soloist finished the composition. Bernstein hugged her and the audience gave her a standing ovation. She had turned the E string mishap into an international triumph. Later, when fifteen-year-old Midori Goto made her debut as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she commented on the episode. It was sad to her that her reaction to the E string rather than her music had been appreciated. She thought the E string “stupid” and the music “beautiful.”

The depth of talent in a person isn’t always gauged by advanced age. Such precocity, while rare, is often obvious enough. Pompey was eighteen and Octavian but nineteen when they led armies in the Roman civil wars. Pompey had received a triumph in Rome before he had a beard on his face. David was just a teenager when he contested Goliath, and even at twelve years of age Jesus understood his mission in life.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.