A wealthy man and his son loved to collect works of art. They had everything from picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the vietnam 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 there with a large package in his hands. he said sir, you dontknow 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 isnt much. im really not 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 swelled upwith tears. He thanks the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. oh no, sir, i could never repay what you son did for me. its 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 great works of art. many people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings andhaving an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. on the platform sat the portrait of his son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel, we will start with this portrait 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 didnt come here to see this painting. we came to see the van gohs, the rembrandts. get on with the real bids. But still the auctioneer continued, the son! the son! who will 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. ill give you $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. lets see the masters. $10 is the bid, wont someone bid $20? The crowd was becoming angry. they didnt want the picture of the son. they wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. going once, twice, sold for $10!A man sitting in the second row shouted, now lets get on with the collection! The auctioneer laid down his gavel im sorry, the auction is over.What about the paintings?Im 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 thistime. 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 2000 years ago to die on the cruel cross. much like the auctioneer, his message today is the son, the son, wholl take the son? Because, you see, whoever takes the son gets everything.
一位富翁和他儿子爱好收藏画，他们收藏了从毕加索到拉费奥等很多艺术品。常常他俩坐在一起欣赏着大师的作品。当越战爆发的时候，儿子投入了战争。他非常勇敢，在一次作战中因为抢救战友而牺牲了。父亲接到了通知，深深地哀恸他唯一的儿子。 约一个月之后，正好是圣诞节前，门上传来敲门声。一位年轻人站在那里，手里拿着一个很大的包裹。他说道：先生，你不认识我，我就是你儿子为了救我而牺牲的那个战士。那天他救了很多人，当他背着我走向安全地带的时候，一颗子弹击中了他的心脏，他顿时就牺牲了。他常常说起你和你对艺术的爱好，年轻人举起他的包裹，我知道这不算什么，我是真的不怎样的艺术家，但我想你儿子会要你保留这幅画的。父亲打开了包裹，是他儿子的一幅肖像画，是这年轻人画的。他惊奇地注视着画中那士兵是如何捕捉到他儿子的个性的。父亲如此地被画里的眼睛吸引，他自己的眼睛也充满了泪水。他谢了那年轻人并提议买下这幅画。噢，不要钱，先生，我永远不能偿还你儿子给我做的一切。这是礼物。 父亲把这肖像画挂在壁炉架上，每次有客人来他家拜访，他总是在给他们看他收藏的许多名作之前，先带他们看儿子的肖像。
富翁在几个月之后死了。他的伟大收藏也将要被拍卖掉。许多人聚集着，为能一睹这些伟大的收藏以及能从他的收藏里买一个加入自己的收藏品这一机会而激动不已。在讲台上安置着那儿子的肖像画 。场面非常安静。这时有一个声音在厅堂的后面叫道：我们要看名画，跳过这一幅。但拍卖经纪人坚持着：有没有人投这幅画的标？谁先开始？一百，两百？另外一个声音高喊着，非常愤怒：我们不是来这里看这幅画的，我们是来看梵高的画，看伦伯朗的画的。快进入真正的竞标吧。但拍卖经纪人依旧继续着：儿子，儿子，谁要这儿子？终于，一个声音从厅堂的深处传来：我出十块钱要这画。因为穷，这是他力所能及的价钱。有人标了十块，有谁肯标二十的吗？ 十块给他吧，让我们看名作。 标价十块，没有人标二十的吗？ 人群开始愤怒起来。他们不想要这儿子的画。他们要收藏的是更值得投资的东西。 拍卖经纪人敲打着槌子：一次竞标，两次竞标，十块得标！ 一位坐在第二排的人喊道：现在让我们开始进入收藏品的竞标。 那拍卖经纪人放下他的槌子说：很抱歉，竞标已经结束了。 那些收藏品怎么办？ 对不起，当我被叫来负责这场拍卖的时候，我被告知那人的遗嘱中有秘密的约定，一直到现在我是不允许暴露这个秘密的。只有儿子这幅画是要拍卖的。谁买了这幅画谁就继承整个遗产，包括这幅画。那个男人拿了儿子肖像，得到了一切。
上帝在2000年以前给他的儿子在残酷的十字架上受死。和这经纪人非常相似，他今天的福音是：儿子，儿子，谁承受这个儿子？因为，你看，谁接纳儿子谁就获得一切。