Who'll Take the Son?
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!
Who?ll
take the
son??
Finally, a
voice came from the very back of the
room.
It wa 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.
See it?s very simple. According to the will of the father,
whoever takes the son, gets everything.!?
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
Just as those
art collectors discovered on that Christmas day, the message is still the same:
The love of a Father, a Father whose greatest joy came from his son who
went away and gave his life rescuing others.
And because of that Father?s love,
Whoever takes
the Son gets it all.
Puts things
into perspective doesn?t it?
The beautiful Pictures on this Page in Gold Frames were Painted by Artist Danny Hahlbohm. His work may not be used without his agents permission. Visit his Site by clicking the banner below
