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The painting
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare worksof 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.
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