Leaving Behind the Invaluable

Yesterday I came upon an interesting article that tells the stories of various items thought to be junk that turned out to be valuable artifacts. The most interesting tale, in my opinion, was that of an $800,000 Stradivarius violin. Called “The Duke of Alcantara”, this 267-year-old violin was donated to UCLA. In 1967, the violin was loaned to a member of UCLA’s string quartet (the university must have really trusted this violinist). After stopping to get groceries, the violinist found that his car was left unlocked and the Stradivarius was missing. 27 years later, a violin dealer found himself repairing the Stradivarius. Recognizing its significance, he did some research and found that the Stradivarius was missing from UCLA. The valuable violin was owned by a woman who received it through her divorce settlement. This woman’s ex-husband was given the Stradivarius by an aunt who found it on the side of the freeway in 1967. It appears the UCLA violinist left the violin on top of his car and drove away forgetting it was there.
It’s amazing how much value we attach to certain objects. I know that I would be panic-stricken if I lost my laptop computer. Though I treasure it, I’ve left my computer in places where it could be easily stolen. I tend to do the same thing with my faith and my morality. I’ve not always made the best choices in the people that I associate myself with and how I spend my time. I’ve often found myself in situations that cause me to compromise my representation of Christ. I’ve found myself beginning to doubt God. In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter uses the phrase “precious faith”. 2 Corinthians 5:7 states that “we live by faith”. Several times in scripture our faith is compared to food and water. We can’t live without it! One’s walk with God must be focused and persistent. Faith is not something that should be left behind like a cup of coffee on a car’s roof.