We are too often stuck in seeing the world in only one way and forget that we can be led to different viewings.
A wealthy oil baron once commissioned Picasso to paint a portrait of his wife. When the work was completed, the baron was shocked to see the image that had been created. “Why that looks nothing like my wife! You should have painted her the way she really is!”
Picasso took a deep breath and said, “I’m not sure what that would be.”
Without hesitation, the oil baron pulled out his wallet and removed a photograph of his wife saying, “There, you see, this is a picture of how she really is!
Picasso, bending over, looked at it and replied, “She is rather small and flat, isn’t she?”
The point is clear: The man was so wrapped up in HIS view of his wife he could not understand anyone else’s view of her.
On the day of Pentecost there were many Jews who understood, who saw God’s new view of the world through the eye of the Holy Spirit. But there were also many there who did not, who could not see the world around them in any other way than the way it had always been.
Thanks to Brett Blair for sharing
Are YOU locked into seeing the world the way the media YOU view sees the world and the way the people YOU are close to see the world? What room do YOU give the Holy Spirit to go to work in YOUR world?
JESUS DIDN’T HAVE TO AGREE WITH PEOPLE TO BE KIND TO THEM!
Every day I now provide a Commentary and a Prayer Reflection of the Daily Treat on my Podcast. I invite you to please listen to the above Podcast. Here is the text of what you would be missing today —
My Commentary: A New Way of Seeing!
This story, humorous and sharp, uncovers a deep truth about how we view the world—and each other. The oil baron’s demand that Picasso paint his wife “as she really is” reflects how often we confuse our perspective with truth. His photograph wasn’t “truth”—it was just his version of how he thought she should be seen.
Picasso’s gentle, witty response, “She is rather small and flat, isn’t she?” challenges us to see beyond surfaces and consider deeper, fuller realities. The same is true for how we view others, events, cultures, and even God. We are often confined by our own background, upbringing, news sources, and social circles. These shape our “picture” of reality—but not always in ways that reflect the whole truth.
The Pentecost event in Scripture shattered narrow worldviews. The Holy Spirit came not to reinforce the same old ways of thinking, but to open eyes, loosen tongues, and ignite hearts. Some welcomed the Spirit’s fresh vision. Others rejected it, clinging tightly to what they already “knew.”
We live in a time of echo chambers and polarized perspectives. But the Holy Spirit still comes, whispering a new way of seeing: to look with compassion, to listen with humility, and to understand that no one culture, media outlet, or opinion has a monopoly on truth.
The Spirit invites us to widen our lens—because God’s view of the world is always broader, deeper, and more loving than ours.
My Prayer Reflection:
Come, Holy Spirit,
Break me out of the narrow places.
Lift me from the comfort of my assumptions
And grant me a new way of seeing.
Where I judge quickly—slow me down.
Where I dismiss others—soften my heart.
Where I see only what I want to see—
Expand my vision.
Let me not confuse my picture of reality
With Your divine truth.
Teach me to welcome new perspectives,
And to find You in places I did not expect.
Like on Pentecost,
Come and stir my mind,
Inflame my heart,
And open my soul to more.
May I see others not as flat images,
But as beloved reflections of You.
And may I live each day
With Spirit-led vision and grace.
Amen.
