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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 and
admire them. 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 Gogh's,
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.
--author unknown--
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