He came from the sea, a brawny, boisterous man, who loved nothing better than the spray in his face as he pitted his little craft against a gale, his calloused hands locked on the tiller, a defiant cry on his lips. And when the wild trick was over how he must have boasted of his feat to friends sharing his hearth!
He was an impulsive man, quick to make decisions and equally quick to make mistakes. Yet he never let either stop him. Instead, he plunged straight on, rushing from one concern to another, always in the thick of things, acting first and thinking about them afterward. So, too, he was a man of moods, one moment courageously casting caution to the winds; the next cringing before circumstance.
His name was Simon. Jesus took one look at him and called him "Rock." (Matthew 16:18) The…