A Lesson from Leonardo

Just before Leonardo da Vinci began to work on his famous painting "The Last Supper," he had a bitter argument with a fellow painter. He grew so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his former friend into the face of Judas. Leonardo knew that if he painted his friend as Judas, succeeding generations would look upon the friend with scorn. The face of Judas was the first he completed, and all who saw it knew it was the face of the fellow painter.
When Leonardo began to paint the face of Jesus, however, something seemed to hold him back, in spite of his best efforts. Over and over again he tried to paint Christ, only to be frustrated. Finally, he came to the conclusion that his frustration had to do with the fact that he had painted his friend’s face into the face of Judas. So Leonardo painted out the face of Judas and began again to paint the face of Jesus—this time with success. We can't paint the features and attributes of Jesus into our own lives if we are painting another person with the colors of bitterness and hatred.*
This story really impacted and convicted me, increasing my desire to be a person of forgiveness and grace. What about you? Let me know what you think. Blessings!

* Source: Paul Tan, Sermon Illustrations