In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul declares, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." This seeming paradox is difficult for Christians to understand. We often think that we must be strong in order to be acceptable to Christ. But Paul tells us that when we acknowledge our weakness and lean wholly upon Christ, He covers the weakness of our lives with His strength. This in weakness, we are made strong.

A familiar story illustrates this point. The story is about Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski.

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away.

When eight o'clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on the bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. "Don't quit--keep playing," he whispered to the boy.

Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and again, "Don't quit--keep playing." And as we do, he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created.

With love,

Mike