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 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
Bibliography
authors many and unknown received through mail
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