The Son 兒子

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 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 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 up with 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. 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 great works of art. many people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having 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 didn't 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. "i'll 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. 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 his 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, the auction is over". "What about the paintings?" "I'm 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 2000 years ago to die on the 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.

一位富翁和他兒子愛好收藏畫，他們收藏了從畢加索到拉費奧等很多藝術(shù)品。常常他倆坐在一起欣賞著大師的作品。當(dāng)越戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)的時候，兒子投入了戰(zhàn)爭。他非常勇敢，在一次作戰(zhàn)中因為搶救戰(zhàn)友而犧牲了。父親接到了通知，深深地哀慟他唯一的兒子。 　約一個月之后，正好是圣誕節(jié)前，門上傳來敲門聲。一位年輕人站在那里，手里拿著一個很大的包裹。他說道：“先生，你不認(rèn)識我，我就是你兒子為了救我而犧牲的那個戰(zhàn)士。那天他救了很多人，當(dāng)他背著我走向安全地帶的時候，一顆子彈擊中了他的心臟，他頓時就犧牲了。他常常說起你和你對藝術(shù)的愛好，”年輕人舉起他的包裹，“我知道這不算什么，我是真的不怎樣的藝術(shù)家，但我想你兒子會要你保留這幅畫的。”父親打開了包裹，是他兒子的一幅肖像畫，是這年輕人畫的。他驚奇地注視著畫中那士兵是如何捕捉到他兒子的個性的。父親如此地被畫里的眼睛吸引，他自己的眼睛也充滿了淚水。他謝了那年輕人并提議買下這幅畫。“噢，不要錢，先生，我永遠(yuǎn)不能償還你兒子給我做的一切。這是禮物。” 　父親把這肖像畫掛在壁爐架上，每次有客人來他家拜訪，他總是在給他們看他收藏的許多名作之前，先帶他們看兒子的肖像。

富翁在幾個月之后死了。他的偉大收藏也將要被拍賣掉。許多人聚集著，為能一睹這些偉大的收藏以及能從他的收藏里買一個加入自己的收藏品這一機(jī)會而激動不已。在講臺上安置著那兒子的肖像畫 。場面非常安靜。這時有一個聲音在廳堂的后面叫道：“我們要看名畫，跳過這一幅。”但拍賣經(jīng)紀(jì)人堅持著：“有沒有人投這幅畫的標(biāo)?誰先開始?一百，兩百?另外一個聲音高喊著，非常憤怒：“我們不是來這里看這幅畫的，我們是來看梵高的畫，看倫伯朗的畫的。快進(jìn)入真正的競標(biāo)吧。”但拍賣經(jīng)紀(jì)人依舊繼續(xù)著：“兒子，兒子，誰要這兒子?”終于，一個聲音從廳堂的深處傳來：“我出十塊錢要這畫。”因為窮，這是他力所能及的價錢。“有人標(biāo)了十塊，有誰肯標(biāo)二十的嗎?” 　　“十塊給他吧，讓我們看名作。 　　“標(biāo)價十塊，沒有人標(biāo)二十的嗎?” 　人群開始憤怒起來。他們不想要這兒子的畫。他們要收藏的是更值得投資的東西。 　　拍賣經(jīng)紀(jì)人敲打著槌子：“一次競標(biāo)，兩次競標(biāo)，十塊得標(biāo)!” 　　一位坐在第二排的人喊道：“現(xiàn)在讓我們開始進(jìn)入收藏品的競標(biāo)。” 　　那拍賣經(jīng)紀(jì)人放下他的槌子說：“很抱歉，競標(biāo)已經(jīng)結(jié)束了。” 　　“那些收藏品怎么辦?” 　　　“對不起，當(dāng)我被叫來負(fù)責(zé)這場拍賣的時候，我被告知那人的遺囑中有秘密的約定，一直到現(xiàn)在我是不允許暴露這個秘密的。只有兒子這幅畫是要拍賣的。誰買了這幅畫誰就繼承整個遺產(chǎn)，包括這幅畫。那個男人拿了兒子肖像，得到了一切。”

上帝在2000年以前給他的兒子在殘酷的十字架上受死。和這經(jīng)紀(jì)人非常相似，他今天的福音是：“兒子，兒子，誰承受這個兒子?”因為，你看，誰接納兒子誰就獲得一切。