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 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 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 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 his 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.
　

一个财主和他的儿子都很喜欢收集名画。不论是毕加索或是拉发的画，也成为他们收集的对象。他们常会坐著欣赏这些巨作。

越战期间，儿子被征入伍。他表现勇敢，但有一次为著拯救同僚牺牲了生命。

当父亲收到通知，他感到极大的悲痛。大约一个月後圣诞前夕，他听到有人叩门。有一个年轻人在门外站著，手拿著一件大包裹。

他说：“先生，你不认识我，我是你儿子所救的那一位士兵。那天他救了很多同僚，但当他背负我到後方的时候，子弹打中他的脖子，他就这样牺牲了。他常常提及你，也让我知道你很爱艺术。”

年轻人将包裹交到父亲的手。“我知道这不是甚麽艺术，我也不是甚麽大师，但我相信你的儿子会想你得到这个。”

父亲打开包裹，原来是这年轻人所划他儿子的画像。他见到画时整个人都显得惊讶，因为这幅画完全的表达了他儿子的神情。当父亲的眼睛与画像人物的眼睛相交，他就哀伤地下泪。

他对年轻人表达谢意，也愿意付出一些金钱上的报酬。但青年人说：“先生，不用，这是一件礼物，我永远也没办法报答你儿子为我所做的。”

父亲将画像挂在壁炉上。每当有客人来访，他就会先带他们去看这幅画像，然後才让他们看他其他的珍藏。

过来几个月他安然去世。马上就有一个大的拍卖会，很多名人都集中来看这些名作，甚至在此增添自己的收藏。

在前面首先可以见到儿子的画像。拍卖商大力击打他的木槌，说：“我们首先拍卖儿子的画像，谁先开价？”经过一段静默，房後面有人高声说：“我们想看那些名作，跳过这一幅吧！”拍卖商却继续努力：“谁愿意买这幅画，请先开价，一百，两百，都可以。”

人群开始鼓　：“我们不是来看这幅画，我们是来看名画的，快拿一些真东西出来！”拍卖商仍坚持地说：“儿子！儿子！谁要儿子？”

最後，房後面有一个声音，来自这个家族的园丁：“我愿意出十块钱”。对一个穷园丁来说，十块钱已经是很多的了。

“我们已经有十块钱，谁愿意出二十块钱？”“十块钱卖给他吧，让我们看其他的名画。”“有人愿意出十块，有没有人愿意出二十块？”

人群开始愤怒，他们来不是要看儿子的画，而是要看其他的珍藏。拍卖商开始将木槌打在桌上，“十块一次，两次，卖出！”

坐在第二行的一个男人大声说：“快点将收藏品拿出来！”拍卖商放下木槌，说：“对不起，拍卖已经完毕。”

“你不是还有其他的名画吗？”“当我被邀作拍卖商时，有人就告诉我遗嘱里有一个特项，我在之前是绝对不能公开的。这就是只有儿子的画像可以拍卖，谁买到这画像就可以得到家族的财产，包括所有名作收藏品。谁买到儿子画像可以得到所有珍藏！”

上帝在两千年前让他的儿子为我们钉死在十架上，好像拍卖商所说，主的信息同样是：“儿子！儿子！谁要儿子？”事实是，谁得到儿子就可以得到一切。