一位富人和他的兒子都非常喜歡珍貴的藝術(shù)藏品，他們的收藏應(yīng)有盡有，從畢加索的到拉斐爾的。他們經(jīng)常坐下來一起欣賞這些偉大的藝術(shù)作品。
越南戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)，兒子奔赴戰(zhàn)場。英勇無畏的他，一次在救助另一個士兵時，不幸犧牲了，父親聽到這個噩耗，為家中唯一的兒子的死悲痛欲絕。
一個月后，也就是圣誕節(jié)前夕，門外傳來敲門聲，一位年輕人站在門口，手里還提著一大包東西。他說：“先生，您不認(rèn)識我吧，您兒子就是為了救我才犧牲的。那天，他救了許多人的命，在把我背到安全地方的時候，一顆子彈射中了他的心臟，他就這樣犧牲了。他常常提起您，以及你們對藝術(shù)的熱愛。”
這位年輕人把包裹拿了出來。
“我知道，對于您來說這是微不足道的，雖然我不是一個真正的藝術(shù)家，但我認(rèn)為您的兒子一定很想讓您擁有它。”
父親把包裹打開，一副兒子的畫像呈現(xiàn)在他面前，是這位年輕人畫的。他吃驚地盯著畫像，這位軍人竟然將兒子的個性表現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致。畫像上兒子那雙眼睛深深地吸引了他，他不禁熱淚盈眶。他謝過年輕人，并要付錢買下這幅畫。
“噢，不，先生，我無法報答您兒子的救命之恩，就把這當(dāng)做禮物送給您吧。”
父親把兒子的畫像掛在壁爐上方，每有客人來訪，他都會先讓他們看兒子的畫像，然后再給他們看自己的藝術(shù)藏品。幾個月后，富人去世了，他收藏的畫將被隆重拍賣，許多業(yè)內(nèi)名流齊聚于此，興奮地欣賞著這些名畫，他們都有機會買一副，自己收藏。拍賣桌上放著那副兒子的畫像。
拍賣師敲著槌子說：“首先，我們拍賣這幅兒子的畫像，有人愿意出價買它嗎？”臺下鴉雀無聲。此時，叫嚷聲從屋子的后面?zhèn)鱽恚?ldquo;我們想看名畫，略過這幅吧！”但拍賣師堅持著：“有人出價嗎？誰先出價？100美元，200美元？”憤怒的叫嚷聲又傳來了：“我們不是來看這幅畫像的，我們要看梵高、倫勃朗的畫。開始正式拍賣吧！”但拍賣師仍繼續(xù)拍賣這幅畫像：“兒子！兒子！誰要兒子？”
最后，一個聲音從屋子的最后面?zhèn)鱽恚且晃粡氖露嗄陥@藝工作的園丁和他的兒子。“我出10美元買這幅畫。”因為太窮，他只能付得起這么多。“10美元，有人出20美元嗎？”“10美元就給他吧，我們好來看大師的作品。”“出價10美元，真的沒有人出20美元嗎？”
人群憤怒了，他們不想看兒子的畫像。他們想為自己的藝術(shù)收藏做些更有價值的投資；拍賣師敲起了槌子：“10美元一次，10美元兩次，10美元，成交！”第二排就坐的一個男人大聲叫著：“現(xiàn)在該開始拍賣收藏品了吧！”
拍賣師把槌子放下了。
“非常抱歉，拍賣已經(jīng)結(jié)束，接受這次拍賣任務(wù)時，有人告訴我遺囑里的一個秘密條約?，F(xiàn)在我可以揭開這個條約的謎底了，那就是，只拍賣兒子畫像，買了它的人有權(quán)繼承這位富人的全部財產(chǎn)，包括這些名畫。買了兒子畫像的人將擁有這一切！”
2000年前，上帝把他的兒子奉獻(xiàn)出來，兒子慘死在十字架上。他也說了這樣的話，就像這個拍賣師說的一樣：“兒子，兒子，誰要這個兒子？”
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 portrait.
“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 portrait of the son. Who will bid for this painting?” 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 long-time 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 painting of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, sale 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. 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 a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is. “The son. The son. Who’ll take the son?”