Walkies! 

Sunday 2^nd June 2024 (Week 71)
 
1 Cor 12: 4-31
 
Anyone who knows me will also know that dogs play a big part in our family life. We`ve never been without a dog for very long and home simply isn`t the same without a four-legged friend padding around, chewing things up! It`s always been Dachshunds and having two of them can be quite interesting and revealing – about our character as well as theirs. I`m not too sure whether they grow to be more like us or we like them but short legs and pot bellies are far too common in our house!
 
Currently, we share our days with Ollie and Rusty but until a few years ago it was Max and Jazz. Despite each pair coming from the same litter, they are always very different. Not so much in appearance but in character and temperament. For instance, when I used to walk Max and Jazz around Stanley Park, one had a long, extendable lead which allowed him to romp off into the long grass, whilst the other had a much shorter lead. That`s because he would generally trot along at my side and only occasionally venture off into the unknown. One, an explorer and adventurer, the other content to watch from a distance. As a result, one often came back dirtier, wetter, and smellier, than the other.
 
Walking each one of our dogs often reminds me of what we are like as Christians. Firstly, there are those of us who simply “need” that longer lead. We want to explore every possible aspect of life, be really involved, and take part in as much as we can. Often, the result can be that we too end up feeling (and sometimes looking) somewhat more ragged as a result of the terrain we`ve explored. And then there are those amongst us who are simply happy to quietly get on with whatever we are doing without any fuss (my wife is one of those).
 
The point is we`re all necessarily different. God made us that way and loves us that way, even though he wants us to change and become more like Jesus. But he made us that way for a reason; the church needs us to be different. If we were all the same, how could we work together to help God build his church? For that reason, He imparted to us different gifts, talents, and abilities for different purposes, and we are not all given every gift.
 
1 Corinthians 12 tells us that there are “different” ways of serving the same Lord. God does not expect us to conform to a one-size-fits-all mould. Whether we are a tax collector or fisherman, stay-at-home mum or high-flying professional we are serving the same Lord, if we are doing what He has called us to do.
 
 
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for making us all different, and thank you for the different gifts you give to each one of us. Please help us to use your gifts to honour and glorify you.