Opportunity. He really just believed in opportunity. Opportunity led to success. And success led to wealth. So 20 years before when the opportunity presented itself for a career that would lead to great profit and personal income… he seized it.
Sure, the hours were long and much of the job was tedious, but as promised it brought him great wealth… and if he had to bend the rules to gain that wealth and cheat folks a bit, well, that was part of the cost for the opportunity…. But, it also brought him great contempt from people.
Of course, he knew when he accepted the position that people would be angry with him, but to be honest, he never expected the outright hate that all people would have for him. He lost all of his friends — even his own family disowned him over his career choice. The only companionship he experienced was from those who had chosen the same career as he had… and their lives were just as gloomy as his.
You see, even though that opportunity had in fact produced the success of wealth… 20 years of rejection, contempt, spite and relational bankruptcy had taken its toll upon his life. And as he reflected on his life he was forced to admit that while he was financially secure, he was miserable and lonely.
The price for seizing the opportunity had been way higher than he had ever imagined it would be. And as he reviewed his life and the choices that he had made; he was confronted with the reality that his life was selfish and without purpose.
But that all changed on the day he climbed up that sycamore tree to get a look at the young Galilean teacher named Jesus. It had been said that he actually forgave people from their sins.
Maybe… just maybe… even though hissins were great…. he would forgive him too… you see, that sycamore tree… it was opportunity… so he seized it.
Well, that day he caught the eye of that young teacher, and he had to admit it would have been hard for Jesus to miss him — a middle aged man dangling from a branch in that tree like a boy trying to escape his household chores.
Jesus actually went home with him to his house and ate a meal with him. No other Jewish person would have done that — and he treated him with respect and dignity. And so, when the opportunity presented itself for Zacchaeus to alter the course of his life and seek to make amends for the last 20 years… he seized it.
The happiest day of his life was when Jesus uttered the words… “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Well, Zacchaeus became known from that day forward as one of the most kind and generous people of his day. He gave half of all of his great wealth to charities that helped the poor… and he diligently sought out each person he had cheated over the years and returned to them 4 times what he had taken.
And what led Zacchaeus to those acts of restitution and generosity? Gratitude. Gratitude over the opportunity to change his life given to him by Jesus. As you reflect on your life this holiday season what do you have to be grateful for in your life? What opportunities could you seize as you react in gratitude to all that God has done in your life? You see, gratitude ought to motivate us to action… it sure did for Zacchaeus!
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