Time is important. And time is in short supply. Dwight L. Moody preached on Zacchaeus with great fire and conviction. The whole story of Zacchaeus just came to life right there on the platform. But he called him, "Zacchus." And on the way home from church his children would chide him. "Pa," they'd say, "it isn't Zacchus. It's Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus." "I don't have time to say Zacchaeus," Moody would bellow, "there's too much work to be done!" And later on in his life, his heart began to play tricks on him while he was in England. He had a checkup there, and the doctor told him to take it easy. So an upcoming campaign in Chicago was promptly canceled, and he headed for home. On the way, the ship developed engine trouble and wound up drifting helplessly out of the main traffic lanes. As the days passed, the chances of the ship's being spotted grew dimmer.

One of those dark days Moody was standing by the ship rail, and thinking about time and how much of it he had left, or possibly, how little. And he vowed to God that if his life could be spared and he could be given a little more time, he would devote it to preaching the gospel. The ship was promptly sighted and rescued, and the rest of the story is on record. Moody's campaign in Chicago was so huge and so blessed of God that the World's Fair being held there had to be closed down on Sundays because they had no customers. Time had suddenly become very precious to Moody and he did not want to waste any of it. There was still work to be done.

Many of us can feel the pressure of time right now as Christmas comes ever closer. John the Baptist had that same urgency. Jesus had that same urgency. The early church had that same sense of urgency. Time is important. Time is in short supply.