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.