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.

~~ Author unknown