A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.
They had everything in their collection,
from Picasso to
Raphael.
They would often sit together and admire the great
works of art.
When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war.
He
was very courageous and died in battle
while rescuing another soldier.
The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas,
there was a knock
at the door.
A young man stood at the door with a large package in
his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier
for whom your son gave his life.
He saved many lives that day,
and he was carrying me to safety
when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.
He often talked about you, and your love for art."
The young man held out his package.
"I know this isn't much.
I'm not really a great artist,
but I think your son would have
wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son,
painted by
the young man.
He stared in awe at the way the soldier had
captured
the personality of his son in the painting.
The father was so
drawn to
the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.
He thanked the
young man and offered to pay him for the picture.
"Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's
a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle.
Every time
visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later.
There was to be a great
auction
of his paintings.
Many influential people gathered, excited
over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one
for
their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The
auctioneer pounded his gavel.
"We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who
will bid for this picture?"
There was silence. Then a voice in
the
back
of the
room shouted.
"We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this
one."
But the auctioneer persisted.
"Will someone bid for this
painting?
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice shouted
angrily.
"We didn't come to see this painting.. We came to see the Van
Goghs,
the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"
But still the
auctioneer
continued.
"The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was
the longtime gardener of the man and his son.
"I'll give $10 for the
painting."
Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who
will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."
"$10 is
the bid-won't someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. They
didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy
investments
for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel.
"Going once,
twice,SOLD ! for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with
the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel.
"I'm sorry, the auction is
over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called to
conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I
was not
allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting
of
the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would
inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets every thing!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much
like the auctioneer, His message today is,
"The son, the son, who'll
take the son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
--Author unknown