THESE TWELVE I PETER: THE MAN OF IMPULSE HERE is one glory of the sun and another "THE glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, and one star differeth from another star in glory." All glorious, yet all different! So also is the kingdom of God! Men differ in temperament, in training, in fitness for the various tasks which are laid upon them. Divine grace is not a steam-roller which irons all the wrinkles and individuality out of people. What a dull place heaven would be if all the saints were just alike! We would not want to go! Give us variety or give us death! When the sun shines through a stained-glass window, it does not make all the colors in it exactly alike. It brings out more fully the loveliness of each one of those various shades. So divine grace brings out in a finer way the personal traits in every life. Here was a man whose name stands first in every list of the apostles! "Now the names of the twelve Apostles are these, Peter, James and John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas," and all the rest. His name stood always at the head of the column. He was no modest, shrinking petunia, blossoming in the back yard or wasting his fragrance on the desert air. He was out on the front porch talking, acting, taking the lead. He was constantly forging ahead into public notice. He was heard as well as seen. He was a man of impulse, a rushing, impetuous type of man, like a mountain stream hurrying over the rocks on its way to the valley below. He was made up in such a way that the connections between his feelings and his will were close. He was quick on the trigger. His reactions came in spurts. The moment he felt an impulse, he was on his feet suiting his action to that mood. He moved first, and thought it over later. Let me notice the strength of such a nature, and then its weakness, and then what the Lord can make of that sort of man! First the strength of it! The man who can make up his mind and act promptly in business, in politics, in the presence of danger, while other men are still thinking it over and talking about it, has a certain advantage. He strikes always while the iron is hot. 99 Jesus saw this man with a net in his hands, fishing. He said to him,"Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men.' Peter had been taking fish for the market; now he was summoned to "take men" for the service of God. The same skill and patience, the same ability to work underneath the surface in a realm unseen, would have value on this upper level of action. The man of impulse did not say: "I will be glad to think it over. I will consider your offer and let you know in the course of ten days or two weeks." He decided then and there that he would do it. He forsook his net, leaving it there in the water, and followed Christ. Peter was fishing on another occasion, without success. He had fished all night and had caught nothing. Just at daybreak Jesus stood on the shore calling out to the seven men in the boat: "Have |