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    <strong>Study the 'two pictures' together — to see what <em>grace </em>can do for a man!</strong><br><br>
&quot;He appointed the Twelve: To <strong>Simon</strong>, He gave the name <strong>Peter</strong>&quot; Mark 3:16<br><br>
In an art gallery in Europe are shown, side by side — the <em>first </em>and the <em>last </em>works of a great artist. The first is very crude and most faulty; the last is a masterpiece. The <em>contrast</em>shows the results of long culture and practice.<br><br>
These <em>two names</em> — are like those two pictures:<br><br>
&quot;Simon&quot; shows us the crude fisherman of Galilee, with all his rashness, his ignorance, his imperfectness.<br><br>
&quot;Peter&quot; shows us the apostle of the <em>Acts </em>and the <em>Epistles</em>; the firm and secure rock; the man of great power, before whose Spirit-filled eloquence, thousands of proud hearts bow; the gentle, tender soul whose words fall like a benediction; the noble martyr witnessing to the death for his Lord.<br><br>
<strong>Study the 'two pictures' together — to see what <em>grace </em>can do for a man!</strong><br><br>
It is not hard to take roses, lilies, fuchsias, and all the rarest flowers — and make forms of exquisite beauty with them. But to take weeds, dead grasses, dried leaves, and trampled and torn and faded flowers — and make lovely things out of such base materials — is the severest test of skill.<br><br>
It would not be hard to take an <em>angel — </em>and train him into a glorious messenger. But to take such a man as Simon, or as Saul, or as John Newton, or as John Bunyan — and make <em>him</em> into a holy saint or a mighty apostle — that shows great power and ability!<br><br>
Yet that is exactly what Christ did with Peter — and has been doing ever since. He takes the poorest stuff, despised, worthless and vile — oft-times the outcast of men; and when He has finished His <em>gracious transforming work</em> — we behold a saint whiter than snow!<br><br>
The sculptor beheld an 'angel' in the rough, blackened stone, which had been thrown away. And when he was finished — behold! men saw an <em>angel </em>cut from the rejected block!<br><br>
Just so, Christ can take us, as rough, as unpolished and as vile as we are — and in His hands, our lives shall grow into purity and loveliness, until He presents us at last before the celestial throne, faultless and perfect! &quot;For those God foreknew — He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son!&quot; Romans 8:29