WHOEVER GETS THE SON, GETS IT ALL!

(This story is everywhere coming around the website. I just reproduce it for my friends. It's very thought provocative) 

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 this 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 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 somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily, 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, 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.'
   
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 the 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.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVES, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE 

(John 3:16)

GOD DOES NOT EXIST!

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
"I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because
if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

friends vs FRIEND

“You are fortunate if you are insulted because of the name of Christ, for the Spirit of glory rests on you.” (1Peter 4:14) Yes, St. Peter affirms that suffering is good, hurt is joyful, pain is pleasure, but when it is for the name of Christ.  Undeniably we all have got hurt, suffering and pain, but we receive all these, most of the time, not for the name of Christ, but from our human relationships.  We get hurt in our human relationship for various reasons.  We may be sensitive or emotional but the deep hurt comes because we love the person so much as part of our own selves; and when there comes a misunderstanding and it cut’s deeper into our heart causing hurt.  Why should it affect us so much?  It is not new in the Biblical history.  Even king David has experienced such hurt by his friends, “If it were a rival insulting me, I could bear with him; if it were a foe in pursuit of me, I could hide from him.But it is you, an equal of mine, my bosom friend, my companion whose fellowship I enjoyed as we walked together in the house of God.” (Psalm 55:13-15)  As a result he thought to himself, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in men.” (Psalm 118:8)  In our relationship or friendship we think that we are the only one who love them and care for them more than anyone, or in other words we start loving them beyond or limits and boundaries.

Everyone has a private circle in which they don’t like others to enter.  There may be exceptionally few who allow very few others to enter into ‘that area’ of their life.  But most of us don’t want other to enter into ‘that area’ where we want to be alone by ourselves.  When we, taking for granted, think that we love and care for them more than others do, and try to enter into ‘that area’, thinking that we have a right; then there comes the problem or misunderstanding.  When they try to react a little, indirectly to show that they don’t like that, we get hurt.  ‘Oh I love him/her very much and care for him/her more than I do for myself; do I not have a right to say this or do that?...’ all those lamentations flow from our hearts.  WHEN YOU MAKE FRIENDSHIP TRY TO KNOW WHERE THEY WANT YOU TO BE, AND STAY THERE IN THAT LIMIT AND YOU WILL ENJOY THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND RESPECT.

Though all our human friendships or relationships have a limit or boundary beyond which you cannot go, there is a friendship, the friendship of Christ, which has no limit, no boundary, no condition and knows no end.  Because, he has nothing to hide from us; there is nothing private for him.  He gave up everything to make us his friend.  “There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends;” (John 15:13). He called us his friends, and gave his life for us to be his friends.  He alone is the one true friend, who will not desert us, hurt us, humiliate us in whatever condition we are, however we are.

We need human friendships or relationships, but all those friendships or relationships that do not lead us to Christ are not worth having it.  Whether pain or gain our friendship or relationship should lead to Christ, our true FRIEND.  If not please check it out, in having human relationships you may be in the right path, but heading in a wrong direction. “What does it profit you to gain the whole world while you destroy or damage yourself?” (Luke 9:25)  If we rephrase this, “WHAT DOES IT PROFIT YOU TO HAVE 1000s OF FRIENDS IN FACEBOOK (who may not love and care, but just to count and comment), WHILE YOU DESTROY OR DAMAGE THAT ONE TRUE FRIENDSHIP?”

Our human friendship or relationship will be true and genuine only when we have HIM as our FRIEND.

IS HE YOUR FRIEND?   

IF NOT MAKE HIM YOUR FIRST AND BEST FRIEND 

and feel the DIFFERENCE!

          Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you and praise you for calling me as your friend and giving yourself for me to make me as your friend.  Help me Jesus to love you more than anything else.  I accept you as my first and best friend.  Walk with me, through the darkest night and brightest day, be at my side, hold my hand and guide me on my way.  Give me good friends through whom I can cherish your divine friendship.  Amen.