Don't Miss It
Luke 19:1-4
"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way."
When Jesus passed through Jericho on the day He met Zacchaeus, He was on His way to Jerusalem for the final time. In just a few days He would go to the cross, and He would never be returning to Jericho again. No doubt Zacchaeus had heard that one of his fellow tax collectors, Matthew, had become a disciple of Jesus. Because of their collaboration with the Romans and their tendency to vastly overcharge people on taxes to line their own pockets, the tax collectors (called publicans) were hated by their countrymen. Zacchaeus must have reasoned that if Jesus was willing to have Matthew as part of His inner circle, the Lord might also be willing to talk to him, and He was. Zacchaeus seized the opportunity that was before him, not realizing how fleeting it would be.
There are many times when we are tempted to put off something that should be done, thinking that will be easier or more convenient if we wait until later. Yet there are many opportunities that will never come again. We either seize them in that moment or we lose them forever. Dale Carnegie said, “I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” The open doors that are in front of you today—to witness, to encourage, to comfort, to teach—may never come again. We must be diligent not to miss these opportunities.
Growth Principle:
There is no guarantee that the opportunities before you today will ever be repeated in the future—seize them while you can.