Day 18. Be Ready (Matthew 25:1-13)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 "Later the others also came. 'Lord, Lord,' they said, 'open the door for us!'

12 "But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.'

13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

*  *  *  *

I find it sad that because the five foolish bridesmaids went to buy oil, they couldn't enjoy the feast. They weren't even allowed inside the door. They were distracted by such a simple thing, yet they missed out on the one thing they were waiting for.

Using verse 13 as the lesson to take away, I'll keep that in mind with the rest of the verses.

By doing this, two verses stand out to me. Verse 5, When the bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept, and verse 10, But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. These two verses directly relate to verse 13 in staying awake and being prepared.

Verse 5. When you're asleep, you have no real awareness of the world around you. And you have no understanding of why you are where you are. And I think this is a real trap for us as Christians. We can 'fall asleep' and become unaware of the fact that our oil is burning low and Jesus is on His way! I guess my interpretation of Jesus saying 'stay awake' in verse 13 would be to stay awake spiritually. You may still be a Christian, your light is still burning, but you're asleep. You've forgotten about your lamp.

Is this what we as Christians are like? Do we forget how exciting it is that we are actually waiting for Jesus? That we will meet Him? Are we so focused on how there is a 'delay', that we decide to sleep instead? There are other, better, things to be doing, right? Do we not realise how low we're running on spiritual oil?

Verse 10 is a kick in the butt. Hello, when you finally realise that you're running low on oil, you don't have enough time to get more! It's too late! We must be ready at all times.

I find it interesting in this story that all the bridesmaids slept, yet some enjoyed the marriage feast. Even though verse 13 says to stay awake. My guess would be that at some points we all sleep. We'll all become unaware of our purpose, our lamp and the bridegroom's return. But this story gives us hope. Even though it seems these times are inevitable, we can still be prepared. Although it would be best to stay awake at all times, the way we deal with the delay and the sleeping is what matters. This is what it comes down to.

The five wise bridesmaids are the ones who realise they do not know the time of the bridegroom's return. They do not presume that they do. And they act like they don't know. I feel that this is important. Acting like you don't know when Jesus' arrival will be. Actually being prepared. This was something that the wise bridesmaids understood too. They knew that their lamps had to be sustained. And they were willing to take care of and maintain their light. They weren't stingy in their supply of oil. They didn't want to miss the bridegroom. However, when you do…

'I don't know you!'

Verse 12 is quite intense. 'I don't know you!' Did he open the door? Nope. Did he look through a window? Nope. He just called, 'I don't know you!'

Well, I don't know the day or hour of Jesus' return, so I would prefer to be awake and prepared, than to have Him say, 'I don't know you!' and not let me into the wedding feast!

(By Sarah)