So often we forget that our Bible heroes were real people. They had names, but like many of us, their friends gave them nicknames. They had personal histories; so like many of us, their names are associated with those histories. They came from families, and some of them were known by their relationship with one of their parents or a sibling. Unfortunately, one of them lived in such a way to forever stain his name. Who we are is based on our idiosyncrasies, our heritage, and our choices. The wonderful thing about Jesus, however, is that who we become does not have to be forever tied to those things. Jesus can take the good in our past and make us far better. Jesus can take the bad in our past and make us new and use those failures to be the beginning point of ministry. So before we place the apostles on a pedestal, let's remember that they were ordinary guys whose lives were changed by Jesus. If he can do that with them, he can surely do that with us too!