The Auction

  The upstate NY man was rich in
  almost every way. His estate
  was worth millions. He owned houses,
  land, antiques and cattle.
  But though on the outside he had it all,
  he was very unhappy on
  the inside. His wife was growing old,
  and the couple was childless.
  He had always wanted a little boy
  to carry on the family legacy. 
  Miraculously, his wife became pregnant
  in her later years, and
  she gave birth to a little boy.
  The boy was severely handicapped,
  but the man loved him with his whole heart.
  When the boy was five, his mom died.
  The dad drew closer to his
  special son. At age 13,
  the boy's birth defects cost him
  his life and the father died soon
  after from a broken heart. 

  The estate was auctioned before
  hundreds of bidders. The first
  offered was a painting of the boy.
  No one bid. They waited like
  vultures for the riches. Finally,
  the poor housemaid, who helped
  raise the boy, offered $5 for the
  picture and easily took the bid. 

  To every-one's shock,
  the auctioneer ripped a hand written will
  from the back of the picture.
  This is what it said:
  "To the person who thinks enough
  of my son to buy this painting,
  to this person I give my entire estate." 

  The auction was over.
  The greedy crowd walked away in shock
  and dismay. 

  How many of us have sought after
  what we thought were true riches only
  to find out later that our Father was
  prepared to give us His entire
  estate if we had only
  sought after His Son alone? 

  Author Unknown