Perfect Timing

Perfect Timing

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the Sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree. And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down! For I’m going to your house today!”

I remember teaching this song to my sons when they were very young. I loved singing songs with them. Songs are opportunities to teach, and this song has many important lessons hidden within it.

I don’t know if you know the story of Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector, one of the most despised men of all Israel because they cheated the people of their hard earned money. One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming. I don’t know if it was curiosity or excitement at seeing this man who had performed miracles, but Zacchaeus made his way to where the crowds were gathered that day. The only problem was that he was too short to see Jesus!  Nearby, however, was a Sycamore tree, and Zacchaeus used that tree to meet his destiny!

Jesus saw him immediately--of course he did, he was the Son of God! He knew just where Zacchaeus would be on that day!  You see, there are no coincidences in God’s kingdom.  Years before Zacchaeus was even born, God put that Sycamore tree in that exact spot because Zacchaeus would need it to meet Jesus on that day.  Long before Zacchaeus climbed the tree, the tree was already planted to meet Zacchaeus’ needs!

Zacchaeus had a divine appointment with Jesus, as we all do.  Luke 19  tells us that after seeing Jesus,  Zacchaeus was so convicted of his sin that he vowed to give back more than he had wrongly taken. Jesus responded to his pure heart by saying, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

And so he does with all of us! God has a divine moment for each of us.  At some point in our lives, he knocks at the door of our hearts and offers to be our friend, our father, our provider, our comforter, our peacemaker, our King, our Savior.  What a pity it would be to miss out on such an opportunity! Zacchaeus realized it; do you?