A wealthy man and his son collected rare works of art.  They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael.  They had great admiration for all the master artists.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. When the father was notified he grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month afterward, just before Christmas, there came a knock at his door. The man opened the door to find a young man with a large package in his hands.

He said, "Sir, you don't know me. 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. 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, revealing 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, and his heart filled with emotion. He was full of gratitude for the young man, and offered to pay him for the portrait.

"Oh, no, sir!" said the young man, "I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift".

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time he had visitors to his home he took them to see the splendid portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

After a time the man passed away. There was to be a great auction of all his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited to see the great paintings, and anxious at the prospect of owning one for their own collection.

As the auction began, on the platform sat the painting of his 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 rear of the auction gallery 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 meekly from the very back of the gallery. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son.  "I'll bid $10." he said.  He was a poor man, and it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?" cried the auctioneer.

"Give it to him for $10, and let's get on with it… Let us see the masters!" came a shout from the crowd.

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" pleaded the auctioneer.

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 in the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, this auction is concluded."

"What about the rest of the paintings?" they began to grumble in outrage.

"I'm sorry. When I was called upon to conduct this auction, I was told of a stipulation in the man's will. I could not reveal it until this time. Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would receive the entire estate as his inheritance, 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 will take the Son?" 

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.