Being Prepared (Part II)

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25:1-13

In the last devotional, I began sharing about the parable of the wise and foolish virgins that Jesus told his disciples to teach them about the end times. His main concern was between those who claim to follow him (the goats) versus the ones who truly follow him (the sheep)(See Matthew 25:31-33).

What differentiates the wise virgins from the foolish ones? The wise ones remain in relationship to the Lord and maintain their anointing and sensitivity to spiritual matters. They continue to walk in the light, and as a result, they are not afraid of darkness. The followers of Jesus continually rely on the oil of the Holy Spirit to help them see matters clearly and walk in the light. The wise ones are not too concerned about the timing of the bridegroom’s return because they are ready whenever he comes. 

The foolish virgins are in need of help. They walk in darkness, and they cannot see clearly. They lose focus of the bridegroom because it’s taken too long.  The bridegroom told the foolish ones that he doesn’t know them. This is the main point of the parable. Those who follow Jesus are continually filled by the oil of the Holy spirit and are ready for when He returns. Those who don’t know Him walk in darkness and when He returns they are not ready!

Recently I had a conversation with someone who professes to be a Christian. He mentioned that he attends a Bible study and that they study the scripture from the writer’s perspective. When I asked him what they do with Jesus’ statements such as, “I am the bread of life,” he stated that they only focus on the one who wrote those scriptures  rather than concentrating on Jesus’ words. There is very little benefit to this kind of Bible study.

The Bible is supposed to bring light into our dark world when we believe what God says. It is God leaving His inheritance for His children. If we don’t believe that it is His Word or take it seriously, we can read it all we want and still remain poor in the spirit. If we only read it for its historical or literary significance it completely misses the point. It is a lamp without the oil. It would be of no use for the one who possesses it. 

The consequence of not taking God at His word, is that we settle for untransformed life! As a result, we want to change our environment to meet our needs rather than addressing the lack of oil in our lives. The decisions of the foolish ones are based on darkness rather than the transforming power of God. When the bridegroom comes, they are alarmed and startled rather being prepared. The wise ones never lost focus of why there were there to begin with.

Let’s encourage one another to be like the wise virgins.