What makes you tick?

Some people are different, we say, and that's not meant as a compliment, but in reality everyone ticks differently. 

No two snowflakes are the same. No two people have the same DNA.
We have had different birds as pets. We loved them all but no two birds were the same.

We once had a budgie that chased our young sons around the house.
This budgie loved music, especially classical music and particularly symphonies by Beethoven. When he heard Beethoven's great Fifth Symphony on the stereo, he would start dancing wildly and wouldn't stop until the music finished.

Then we had a rainbow lorikeet, a small Australian parrot that is bigger than a budgie. These birds love to play. They especially love balloons. They can be very loving and sweet, but sometimes stubborn and grumpy.

When I was a child, we had a black Labrador. No dog is more gentle and loving.
I love dogs, but I've never been a cat person.

I had good friends who loved God, like me, but they didn't love dogs, they loved cats. They had four cats that they couldn't live without.

Dogs worship their masters. They want to serve. Cats can be very friendly, but they have a mind of their own.

A cat asked a dog why it couldn't climb. The dog asked the cat why the police didn't have cats on duty, only dogs.

If you have a pet cat, dog or parrot, you will know that each species has a different character. Not only that, but each individual cat, dog or parrot is a unique individual.

It is the same with people. Beware of stereotypes.
 
There are many Christians who see their preacher or pastor as a role model. That can be a good thing. There are preachers who are enthusiastic about street outreach. Many in the church go on the streets, pray for people, tell them about Jesus, win lost people for God.

But that's not for everyone.

Maybe you are a nurse. You are overwhelmed in the hospital, but you care for patients with cancer or Covid with love. You pray for the dying and let them know that you are praying for them. You do all this humbly and with wisdom so that you are not dismissed as a fanatic.

You come home exhausted after your work. Should you condemn yourself as a worldly failure because you don't evangelise on the street? Not at all. We all tick differently.

Maybe you're an introverted academic. You study Bible texts for hours on end.

William Carey studied the Bible and foreign languages. He wanted to win the world for Jesus, but he only led one person to conversion through his missionary work.

William Carey moved from England to India. He learnt Hindi and translated the Bible so that the Indians could read it in their own language. As an evangelist, William Carey was a failure, but as a missionary he was still a trailblazer.

You don't have to despise your unique qualities and talents if you tick differently from the other Christians around you.

The body is also made up of many different parts, not just one.

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 1 Co 12:14–16 NIV