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 Vietnam 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 this 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 somebody bid for
this painting. Who will
start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice 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 everything!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the
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.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN
SON, WHO SO EVER
BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE
God Bless.
