**Have You Claimed Your Inheritance?**


**Posted by : Tony Evans**


There’s an oft-told story of a wealthy man who had lost his beloved son, and then later he himself died. Over the course of his life, he had accumulated a number of expensive, valuable, and rare commodities, which, following his death, were to be auctioned off in an estate sale. Knowing of the man’s taste in exquisite furniture, art, and the like, *hundreds of people showed up for this auction*.
The day began, though, with a piece that most showed *no interest in at all*. The auctioneer came forward with a cheaply framed picture, saying, “The first piece we’re offering today is this portrait of the man’s only son.” He paused to give everyone a chance to view it, then continued, “Do I have a bid?”
The room fell silent, as no one raised their hand to bid on this framed portrait. *They had come for some of the expensive art pieces and artifacts, not for something as simple as that*.
The auctioneer stood still, not saying a word—something auctioneers are rarely seen doing—but he could tell by the expressions on the faces of the attendees that this wasn’t something anyone really wanted to buy. Still, he asked once more, “Do I have a bid? Does anyone want this portrait of the man’s son?”
Just then, from the back of the room, an elderly man stepped forward and said, “Sir, I was the servant of the man who died, and if nobody will take the picture of his son*, I want to know if I can have it*.”
The auctioneer said, “One more time. Is there *anyone* who will bid on the picture of the son?” Yet nobody did. So he said to the servant, “Yes, sir, the picture is yours.”
The elderly servant slowly *walked forward to take hold of the portrait*. Looking lovingly on the boy’s image, he then tucked it under his arm and headed toward the back of the room.
To everyone’s shock, the auctioneer then picked up his gavel, banged it down, and said, “*The auction is now over*.”
Everybody looked around, and someone said, “What? You haven’t brought out any of the expensive pieces that were supposed to be sold.*How can the auction be over*?”
The auctioneer replied, “The father’s will says that the auction was to begin with the picture of his son. He valued his son so highly that he stipulated that*whoever took his son’s picture would inherit everything*.”
Essentially, *he who has the son has everything else*. He who does not have the son gets nothing.
*Sometimes we are like those buyers at the estate auction*. We’re going around looking for everything else to buy, but God is there saying, “I have come to give you life and to give it to you more abundantly. But that life can only be found in connection with My Son. If you have My Son, you have eternal life and all that goes with it.”
Scripture states this clearly for us in the book of Romans, where we read, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (8