1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The 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. 8The 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.’ (Matthew 25:1-9)
Thoughts: This parable could have been included in chapter 24, except chapter 25 has two other parables, so it is a good bridge. This is one of the last parables Jesus gave before His arrest. It is a parable of being prepared and waiting. Again, Jesus implies here that His coming will be much delayed, and that His followers need to wait and not give up.
We would say today that the foolish virgins gave out of gas or gave out of energy. It is almost like someone going on a trip without enough gas and no gas stations. If you've ever given out of gas it's a bad feeling. When our oldest daughter got married, in all the stress and running around my wife and I paid no attention to the gas in the car. When we had no time for it- the day before the wedding, we were out of gas and had to walk/jog to the gas station.
How much worse when we run out of faith- our run out of patience before our Lord. Preparedness cannot be shared- we are individually responsible to be prepared. We are called to stoke the fire and energy of our love for God. Note that they all fell asleep. I think Jesus was hinting that we all will be surprised when He finally does come. We may all be surprised, but we can all have our hearts ready with faith.
We would say today that the foolish virgins gave out of gas or gave out of energy. It is almost like someone going on a trip without enough gas and no gas stations. If you've ever given out of gas it's a bad feeling. When our oldest daughter got married, in all the stress and running around my wife and I paid no attention to the gas in the car. When we had no time for it- the day before the wedding, we were out of gas and had to walk/jog to the gas station.
How much worse when we run out of faith- our run out of patience before our Lord. Preparedness cannot be shared- we are individually responsible to be prepared. We are called to stoke the fire and energy of our love for God. Note that they all fell asleep. I think Jesus was hinting that we all will be surprised when He finally does come. We may all be surprised, but we can all have our hearts ready with faith.
Prayer: Lord, keep my heart ready. Help me to keep the faith.
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