September 6, 2002

For about two years now, I’ve been attending New Life Christian Centre’s Generation Church. Now, I’m not going to get preachy and all. But this I can say. Every time I go to Generation Church, the message always seems to hit me. It’s always right! So now, I’m going to share the message earlier, which I think everyone can relate to. And every Friday or at least once a week, I’ll share the Word. J

Scripture: Luke 19: 1-10

The scripture talks about Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho. He’s rich and all, but he’s got a defect: he’s a really short man. One day, Jesus came into town. So the crowd gathers and Zacchaeus can’t see a thing coz he was so short. What he does is he runs ahead of the crowd and climbs a sycamore tree. So when Jesus passes the tree and sees him, he tells Zacchaeus to come down the tree and that he would stay at Zacchaeus’ house. The people were astonished that Jesus would want to stay at Zacchaeus’ house because he was the city tax collector and he took money from the people. But Jesus said: “ 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 what was lost”.

So why did I decide to write about this particular message? There have been tons that I could have written about but this seems to hit me most. What is the whole point of the message? It’s this: Everyone has a flaw. But everyone also has gifts. So why look at your flaw and compare it to someone’s gift when you can look and share your gift to everyone?

There were four things that Zacchaeus did.

1. Zacchaeus didn’t allow the crowd to get in the way. He ran ahead.
There are times when you have a goal or dream. You’re doing everything to get to it but there seem to be things that get in the way. It may be you’re parents, finances, friends, foes, whatever. But look at Zacchaeus! He ran ahead of the crowd. It’s like, he had a counter plan, just to get what he wants. That’s what we should do. If you want something, then don’t let things hinder you from doing it. Just run ahead!

2. Zacchaeus didn’t allow his handicap to get in the way. He climbed a tree.
Zacchaeus was a small man. And you can just imagine Caucasians. They’re big! Because he couldn’t do anything about his height, he did the next best thing. He climbed a tree. In the same way, you shouldn’t let your handicap get the best of you. You may have an imperfection, but you can do something about it. Example: you may not be good at talking, but you can write a mean story. Then use that to express what you feel. If you’re not too pretty, but you’ve got a very interesting personality, then use that to your advantage. There are a lot of things that you can use. Never size yourself according to someone else’s gifts. Why should you look down on yourself? Like, you say to yourself that you can’t join this group because you’re poor and they’re rich. Or, you’re shy to join your group of friends because they’re pretty, and you feel that you’re not. Point is, God made everyone unique, with all your gifts and imperfections. All you have to do is look beyond your handicap, and use your gifts. Never let your handicap get in the way of your passion.

3. Zacchaeus did what nobody else did. Never give up.
If you go with the flow, then you’re just going to be like everyone else. So do not do everything that everyone does. Be a non-conformist.

4. Zacchaeus didn’t get what everybody else got, he got MORE than everyone!
By focusing on your gifts, and using them to their full potential, then you will get more than everyone! Never be discouraged! Just grab a hold of His promises, grab a hold of God!

I remember this time when I was with my clique in Libis, having a girl’s night out. I suddenly didn’t want to be there with them because I felt that everyone there was much prettier, sexier than me. And it’s true! Not just a feeling! That was getting to me and more and more I was getting insecure. I told my best friend and she said that I had gone mental! I shouldn’t do that! And now, I realized, she’s right. I shouldn’t do that. There are things that I can do and that I have achieved that they can’t do or achieve.

So everyone, never get discouraged! Never look at what other people have, and look at what you don’t have. You have a gift, USE IT!