Now That's What You Call a Plot Twist
17 June, 2015
Long, long ago, in a land far, far away (no, this is not Shrek 3), there lived a notoriously wealthy man named Baron Fitzgerald. Baron was todays version of Donald Trump, minus the presidential nomination. He was one of the richest men in all of England in the early 1800's, and everyone in town knew his name. If he walked into a market, people shook his hand. If he rode down the street in his carriage, people waved. If he popped into the governor's palace, he was treated to a 5-course dinner.
Baron, most notably known for being an avid art collector, didn't let his wealth get to his head. He was no Scrooge McDuck. Instead, Baron was a family man. He married the love of his life at a young age and she bore him a son, and Baron absolutely adored them both. Tragically and out of the blue, his wife caught a fever due to the plague and quickly died. Baron was obviously crushed and chose never to remarry. As an only child with deceased parents, Baron decided to devote himself entirely to fathering his son, now a teenager. That is, until Baron's worst fear came true: his son also became ill and passed away.
Meanwhile, Baron's finances steadily increased, and he continued to collect classic art pieces by Picasso, vanGogh, and Monet, acquiring a massive collection rivaling all others in Europe. In time, Baron also died of old age without any family and few close friends. In his will, he asked for an auction to be held for art connoisseurs to bid for the beloved pieces.
The auction was the talk of the town, and people from all over filed into the city's great hall for the big event. Baron's attorney was in charge of the auction and began to read from the will, which explained how the first painting to be auctioned was a small painting by an unknown artist. It was the only painting in the collection not painted by a notable artist, and it was a picture of Baron's son, a boy not many in the room had known well. The lawyer opened the floor for bidding of the piece, but no one offered a thing.
"Anyone? Anyone at all?" And after a prolonged silence, a man in the back of the room, a poor servant who took care of Baron's son during his short life, raised his hand and bid a miniscule offer of less than a pound. With no counteroffers by others, the painting of Baron's son was sold to the man in the back of the room.
As people started to rub their hands together for the "real" paintings to get auctioned, the lawyer slammed his gavel and announced the auction was over. Immediately in an uproar, the audience asked what he meant. "What about the rest of the pieces? The vanGoghs? The Picasso's? What do you mean it's over?"
Unfolding the will, the lawyer began to finish reading the remainder of Baron's instructions. "Whomever bids on the portrait of my son, my beloved boy, the apple of my eye, gets it all. They get every single painting in my collection." And with that, the auction was indeed over.
This amazing true story exemplifies Jesus perfectly. Jesus is the son of God, His beloved boy, the apple of His eye, and God wants nothing more than to bring honor to Him. God, like Baron, is the beholder of a vast wealth of treasures that go well beyond our thinking. He holds the key to everlasting life in Heaven, with streets of gold and emeralds on the walls of the city and sun shining all day long without any darkness and nothing but joy and laughter and praise. It's all in the book of Revelation in the Bible if you're interested.
So God, like the Baron, is willing to give us these incredible treasures He alone can give if we just do one little thing: honor His son.
I've often heard people tell me they refuse to become Christian because they see God as a hypocrite. "Why would I worship a God who only lets certain people into Heaven? Why do we have to believe in Jesus to get in, why can't He just be accepting?"
But that's the point, He IS accepting. He wants EVERYONE to be in Heaven with Him, which is why He sent down His son in the first place! God is a good God. He is loving and accepting and a father. But He also expects those who are serious about spending eternity in Heaven to accept Jesus.
And why should it be any different? Heaven is a place where Jesus reigns. He'll be the one everyone wants to grab their morning coffee with. So why should God allow anyone into Heaven who doesn't want to hang out with Heaven's #1 celebrity?
Someone once told me you can measure your treasure by what death can't touch and money can't buy. The Baron knew he would be dead. He didn't care about making any money on the auction. All he wanted was for his sons name to be remembered. God is the exact same... He doesn't care what baggage you bring to the table or how broken you may seem, He just wants you to honor His son.
Funny, isn't it, out of all the wealthy people at the auction, the one who walked away with the prize was a poor servant who cared for the boy?
Honor God's Son, beloved. The treasures awaiting you are beyond comprehension.
