The
Story of a Son
author
unknown
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! 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.
Dear God,
So far, today,
I've done all right. I haven't gossiped or lost my temper.
I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, or self centered. I'm really
happy about that so far. But in a few minutes I'm going to be getting
out of bed and then I'm going to need a lot of help. Thank you!
Amen
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