who will take the son?

[bill_marie]

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 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
       

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reprints:  (   http://www.masterplan2000.com/son   )