Whoever Takes the Son Gets It All

March 12, 2025

Years ago, a wealthy man and his devoted young son shared a passion for collecting art. Together, they traveled the world, acquiring only the finest masterpieces. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and others adorned the walls of their family estate, a testament to their shared love of beauty and craftsmanship.

As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. Just weeks later, the father received a heartbreaking telegram—his greatest fear had come true. His son had died while heroically carrying a wounded soldier to safety.

One morning, a knock at the door awakened the grieving old man. He opened it to find a young soldier holding a large package. “Sir,” the soldier said, “I was a friend of your son. I’m the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in? I have something for you.”

As the old man unwrapped the package, he uncovered a portrait of his son. Though it lacked the mastery of the great artists in his collection, the painting captured his son’s face with striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man clutched the portrait, expressing his gratitude and vowing to place it above the fireplace.

Months later, the old man fell ill and passed away. The art world buzzed with anticipation. With both the collector and his son gone, his priceless collection would soon be auctioned.

At the auction, art connoisseurs filled the room, eager to bid on the masterpieces. The first painting on the block, however, was one that had never been listed—a portrait of the man’s son.

“Who will start the bidding at $100?” the auctioneer asked.

The room fell silent. Murmurs spread among the crowd.

“Who cares about that painting?” someone scoffed. “It’s just a picture of the old man’s son. Let’s move on to the real art!” Others nodded in agreement.

The auctioneer remained firm. “No, we must sell this one first. Who will take the son?”

Finally, a voice from the back of the room spoke up. It was a friend of the old man. “I only have ten dollars,” he said. “But I knew the boy, and I’d love to have it.”

“I have ten dollars—will anyone go higher?” the auctioneer called out. Silence followed.

“Going once, going twice… sold.” The gavel fell.

Cheers erupted as the collectors prepared for the real bidding to begin. But to their shock, the auctioneer looked up and announced, “The auction is over.”

A stunned hush filled the room.

“What do you mean it’s over?” someone shouted. “We came for the masterpieces! There are millions of dollars of art here! Explain yourself!”

The auctioneer smiled and replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the father—whoever takes the son gets it all.”

"According to the will of the Father, whoever takes the Son gets it all."

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The Protestant reformer Martin Luther came face to face with the depth of his sin when he read the greatest commandment. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).

Luther quickly realized that he had failed—and continued to fail—to keep this commandment. He was a sinner. And like Luther, we must first recognize our own sin before we can fully grasp what Jesus has done for us. Only then can we understand the profound truth Paul writes about:

For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! (Romans 5:6-8)

Christ paid the penalty. He took the nails—for you and for me. Paul explains, “He forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross”(Colossians 2:13-14).

Now, when God looks at those who have accepted His Son, He doesn’t see their sins, mistakes, or past failures. Instead, He sees their love, obedience, and faith. He sees that they have embraced His Son—the One who willingly gave His life for them.

The defining moment in my understanding of God’s grace, the immeasurable gift offered to each of us through Jesus Christ, occurred one night as I was driving home from seminary. That night, I experienced assurance. That night, in the words of John Wesley, my “heart was strangely warmed.”

As I drove, I began to pray using a method I had recently learned in a class on prayer—praying without words, simply centering my entire being on Christ. After ten or fifteen minutes, memories of my sins and the times I had turned away from God rose to the surface. It was in that moment I truly grasped my need for a Savior. Though I had already accepted Christ in my heart, I had never fully comprehended the depth of His grace—until that night.

Laying all my unworthiness at the foot of the cross, I surrendered it to Christ. And then, suddenly, I was overwhelmed with a scripture reference: Malachi 1:2.

The second time the impression came, it was so overwhelming that I pulled over and looked up the passage. It read, “I have loved you, says the Lord.”

In that instant, I knew—I was forgiven. Christ had entered my heart, and there was no doubt. At that moment, I truly understood what John Wesley meant when he said, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

That night was my moment of assurance. The sins I had laid at the cross, I never picked up again. The guilt I had carried for years was gone.

Through my early years in ministry, I learned a truth we must never forget: There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. God’s grace—His unconditional love—is a gift. It is not earned. It is not deserved. Our forgiveness is not based on what we do; it is based on who God is.

As one writer puts it, “The works that follow salvation do not make us righteous before God; they simply flow from a heart that has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit as naturally as water flows downhill.” When the Holy Spirit transforms us, our lives will reflect that transformation. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

It all begins with shifting our focus—not on our neighbor, but on the mirror—recognizing our own need for God. It begins with the humbling realization that we are unworthy of such love. A love so profound that the Creator of the Universe would send His Son, and His Son would willingly choose the cross for us. As Max Lucado so powerfully puts it, “Jesus would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.”

In response to this sacrifice, Paul challenges us: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering” (Romans 12:1, MSG).

Our response to God’s gift of love, to the gift of His only Son, is to offer our lives in service and love for others—not out of obligation, but out of gratitude for all He has given us.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

-Ephesians 2:8-10