Seize the Day!

Oblatum Occasionem Tene

By Bryan Clark

Oblatum occasionem tene is Latin for “seize the opportunity.” In Spanish, you’d say, “aprovechar la oportunidad.” In Swedish it’s “ta chansen.” In Hungarian, “megragadja az alkalmat.” To find out how to say “seize the opportunity” in Australian, you might want to check with someone like Nick Vujicic.

If you’ve ever seen or heard Nick speak on YouTube or elsewhere, it’s unlikely that you’ll soon forget him. Nick was born with Tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder that is characterized by the absence of all four limbs. I can’t even begin to imagine the difficulties that Nick and others with similarly challenging conditions face in life. His childhood and teen years must have been indescribably tough. He has explained that as an eight-year-old, he was already thinking about suicide. And at age ten, he tried to drown himself, only backing out because of what it would do to his parents. But when he was 15, Nick gave his life fully to Jesus, and he began to understand and appreciate God’s plan for him. Amazingly, miraculously, despite the gargantuan challenges of growing up and learning to live and function without arms and legs, Nick didn’t just survive, he has thrived.

To be fair, the word “thrive” is way too wimpy a description of what Nick has fought so hard to accomplish, but every other word I considered using instead also falls way short. Nick’s own words probably say it best in the title of his first book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life.

As an adult, Nick has become a hugely sought-after speaker, receiving over 200 requests each week. He has traveled to nearly 40 countries, spoken to millions, and has touched and helped to change tens of thousands of lives—including yours truly. Nick moves me. Nick isn’t just interesting. In spite of the painful reality of his physical condition, in my opinion, he’s beautiful. He shines with confidence and faith in God’s love, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, so that when you hear him speak, you don’t just hear and see Nick, you see Jesus’ love shining through him.

Something else that stands out to me is the absolute directness in what Nick says and the unmistakable certainty in how he says it. Nick doesn’t pull his punches. He gets right to the point and aims straight between the eyes. He does it wisely, humbly, softly, with a sincere smile and a good sense of humor, but he does it determinedly. He is obviously on a mission.

Nick isn’t just a “speaker.” He isn’t primarily trying to make people feel better about themselves, although he does that too. He’s not just about overcoming adversity, pumping up self-confidence, or attracting abundance, like countless other motivational speakers these days. He covers a lot of the same important topics, like be thankful instead of complaining about your circumstances; try things, because you never know what you can achieve; when you fail, try again; obstacles equal opportunities; and failure equals learning. But to me, Nick’s physical limitations make those messages all the more powerful. And it’s always crystal clear that, for Nick, what makes all of those things possible and worthwhile is faith in Jesus and in His great love for us all.

Something special happened early in September of this year when Nick was in Chile. He was scheduled to speak to a large crowd at an arena. His visit was being publicized widely, and the morning before the big event, Nick was invited to appear on a morning talk show by Chilean celebrity hosts Felipe Camiroaga and Carolina de Moras.

The program was broadcast nationwide, and just as he customarily does, Nick quickly won the interviewers’ hearts, captivating them with his sense of humor, his humility, and his willingness to bare his soul, and by sharing the intimate details of his childhood and life. The interview was originally scheduled to last 20 minutes, but they ended up giving him the full hour. He and Felipe even played a bit of football.

Nick took full advantage of the platform and opportunity, skillfully and determinedly guiding the interview toward his main message—faith in Jesus. At one point, Camiroaga candidly asked, “How can one come to know God?” opening the door for Nick to give a very strong and clear message of salvation for everyone watching.

As the interview came to a close, Nick asked Felipe and Carolina if he could pray. They both immediately and enthusiastically consented. He touchingly prayed for the interviewers, for the television station, for the audience, for the country, for the government to make the right decisions, against discord and disunity, for the Holy Spirit to fall upon the hearts of all, and for everyone in the country to have faith in Jesus as the Savior, and to know that He loves them.

After praying, Nick went on to challenge the nation’s churches to set aside differences and to work together in God’s love. He even apologized to the TV audience if any had ever been offended or hurt by the churches, or if they hadn’t been shown love by them. He added that he was not trying to lift himself up as a good example, but that only Jesus is good.

It’s not common in today’s world for a Christian speaker to be given such a platform to openly evangelize and pray on a celebrity talk show. It was quite out of the ordinary, and Nick took full advantage of the opportunity, just as he does wherever he goes. However, later that day, something took place that no one could have expected, which caused Nick’s interview and prayer to carry even greater weight.

That afternoon, just a few short hours after the interview, an aircraft took off from Santiago, Chile, for Robinson Crusoe Island, which is one of the Juan Fernández Islands. The aircraft, which was carrying support and relief in the wake of the 2010 Chile earthquake, attempted twice to land at the airport, but strong winds prevented it. The plane subsequently crashed into the sea on its third approach. There were four crew and seventeen passengers aboard. All perished upon impact.

Among the victims were Felipe Camiroaga, his TVN film crew, and a well-known philanthropist. Felipe was traveling to the island to report on the reconstruction following the earthquake. Who would have ever imagined that Camiroaga’s interview with Nick that morning would be his last? The whole nation was in shock.

As I followed the unfolding story, watching the interview and Nick’s prayer on YouTube, and the news reports about the tragedy, I’m embarrassed to admit that my initial reaction was something like “OMG! Nick just prayed for God to bless the interviewers and the TV station, and only a few short hours later this happens! Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t prayed those things on national TV, because what will the people of Chile think about God and about Nick and about his faith now after something like this?” I had a personal interest, because I had briefly lived in Chile years ago and I love the Chilean people.

But after wondering if it had been a mistake, I immediately realized that I didn’t need to concern myself with God’s reputation or worry about what people would think and what their reaction would be. After turning my heart to the Lord and letting Him speak to me about what had happened, I could easily recognize and appreciate once again God’s unfailing love, His amazing foreknowledge, His perfect timing and faithfulness—and not only the Lord’s faithfulness, but the faithfulness of His witness as well, which in this case was Nick.

Nick had no way of knowing that his first meeting with Felipe and his TV crew would be his one and only opportunity with them, but he didn’t waste the platform he had been given. He didn’t settle for just tickling their ears with feel-good stories or self-help instruction. He wasn’t just funny and entertaining. He seized the opportunity, and very prayerfully mixed all of those elements in, while he went straight for their hearts and for the hearts and souls of the whole country.

The question then came to me ... What if? What if Nick hadn’t shared his heart so openly? What if he hadn’t talked so plainly and unabashedly about Jesus and His unfailing love? What if he hadn’t humbled himself so completely by asking Felipe and Carolina to pray with him? What if he had taken the more customary, the more acceptable and “safer” approach, out of concern that he might offend someone or embarrass himself?

There is a time and place for everything, and there may be times when a more subtle approach would be the better way to go about things. But for that particular time and place, God knew the urgency of the matter. He knew what was just about to happen, and He knew that not only did Felipe and Carolina need to hear the important message that He had laid on Nick’s heart to share, but so did others in the studio and in the TV audience.

I’m not suggesting that the fate of Felipe’s eternal soul rested solely on whether or not Nick went about things the way he did that morning. God is faithful, and I feel certain that Felipe and his film crew, as well as Carolina and others in the studio and who were watching at home, had undoubtedly had countless other experiences which the Lord had used to knock on their hearts’ doors. Perhaps they had even accepted and received the gifts of salvation and eternal life previously.

But after the tragic events of that day, I can’t help but praise the Lord for His faithfulness in having Nick there at such a crucial moment. Of all the people in the world they could have been interviewing that morning, God made sure that Nick was the one who was there with them in the studio. And he didn’t hold back. He delivered his soul, and they listened and gladly received what he had to say, praying with Nick right there on national television. Nick said later that, at times during the interview, Felipe had tears in his eyes. At one point, after they had been kicking around the football, Felipe bent over and kissed Nick on the head.

Undoubtedly, many of the TV and YouTube audience caught the significance of the interview and prayer. One person posted a comment asking, “If God is a God of love, why would He have allowed something so tragic to happen to someone so special?” But most posters recognized that the timing couldn’t have been a coincidence, and that it was God’s amazing love that had Nick there at that very special time.

One person wrote, “I believe that God uses people in ways that we least expect, and thank God He used Nick to give such a beautiful blessing to the life of Felipe. No one could have known what was going to happen, but God knew that He was going to take him.” Another wrote, “God has a plan. There are no coincidences. And God sent this angel to help guide Felipe’s heart so that he could go to a better place.”

In the following days, Felipe’s friends and co-workers at TVN also commented at length regarding the significance of Nick’s visit and everything that he had shared with them. Carolina expressed how greatly they had all been touched by Nick, but she said that Felipe had been especially moved. They all agreed, saying, “Felipe connected. He connected with Nick’s message in a very special way.”

One of the producers shared the story about how, after the interview that morning, as Felipe was about to leave for the airport, he was still reflecting on something that Nick had said. Nick had commented, “I’m greedy. I’m very greedy.” That really surprised Felipe, and he had asked, “You’re greedy? What do you mean by that?”

Nick had gone on to explain, “I’m greedy because I’m not satisfied with living just 90 years. I want to live forever.” It was very noticeable to Carolina and to his other co-workers that Felipe had been greatly affected by that, so much so that he had tears in his eyes. They commented that, after the tragedy, the thought of eternal life has even more significance for them all now than it had before.

In a video message that Nick recorded for the staff at the television station, he explained that he had been very saddened by the tragic accident. He told them, “There are times when life is not fair. But we know that sickness and disease and death itself did not come from God. Life came from God, along with joy, peace, strength and love. … Thank God that there’s heaven, because this life sucks at times. But heaven is real. God is real. So, make sure your walk with Him is real.”

Felipe and Nick’s story was a sober reminder to me to walk closely with God each day, following His voice and Spirit in every circumstance, so that, just as Nick was in this case, I can be at the right place, at the right time, and the right sample of God’s love to those I meet.

We may never know the impact that our words and sample will have. Oblatum occasionem tene. Knowing that we may only have one chance, let us be faithful to seize the opportunity when we have it. We may not have another.