And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, N.K.J.V.)

The story is told of a wealthy man who collected rare works of art. This man had one child, a son who went to war to fight for his country. Tragically, the son died in battle while rescuing one of his fellow soldiers.

One day there was a knock at the wealthy man’s door. It was the soldier for whom his son had given his life. The young man said to the father, “Sir, I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him, killing him instantly. Since he often talked about your love of art, I want you to have this.” The young man then handed over a painting that he had done. It was a portrait of the wealthy man’s son.

The wealthy man died just a few months later, and a great auction was held at his home to clear out his vast collection of valuable paintings. Many rich, influential people showed up for the auction, and they were all surprised when the portrait of the son, painted by the untrained soldier, was the first painting up for auction. The auctioneer began the bidding at $100 but found no takers. Despite his best attempts to sell the amateurishly done portrait, no one was interested in buying it.

Finally, after a minute or so of awkward silence in the room, the wealthy man’s longtime gardener, who was nothing more than a curious spectator at the auction, said, “I’ll give $10 for the painting just to have a remembrance of the son.” The auctioneer said, “$10 is the bid, going once, going twice, SOLD for $10.” Then he said to the large crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is concluded. I was told that whoever gets the son gets EVERYTHING.”

Did this story actually happen? Probably not. But that doesn’t diminish the message it conveys. That message is: Whoever gets Jesus gets EVERYTHING that God the Father has to offer. So tell me, do you have Jesus? If you don’t you are missing out on that which is most important, not only for this life but for eternity.