MT 25:1 - 13 "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, 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. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!'
12 "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
I was reading this passage today in my bible study. One of the questions asked was what do the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins have in common? As I thought of the comparison between the two the firsts and most immediate answer is that the common denominator is that both groups had a desire to be invited to the wedding banquet with the bridegroom.
However what happen is like most things in life, sometimes things appear to be unfair. But when has life ever promised to be fair? Bad things happen to good people every day and evil people succeed in greater numbers every day as well.
But the deeper message in this parable is one of readiness. I must be ready to give an answer for what I believe in. We read n 1 Peter:
1PE 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
When I read this parable I have to decide who I want to be. Do I want to be a wise virgin who has trimmed her lamp and has plenty of oil on hand, or do I want to be like the foolish virgin and come unprepared to the party.
In the world we are surrounded by the so called foolish virgins. These are the people who never look beyond the moment. They are the people who assume there will always be time to believe in God later. These are the people who belong to the church of “I’m a good person” They believe that being good is all that is required.
I know what I want and that is to be ready. I want my lamp to be trimmed and full. But how do I achieve this. I must keep my proverbial lamp full with the oil of the Holy Spirit which comes from a daily dose of God’s word. It means spending time in prayer and worship. It means seeking out the will of God in my life. It means making the hard choice to live for God and not in the world. It means that I must stay on my knees and grounded in the word. When I do this my lamp will be trimmed and ready for that midnight cry.
Sadly both groups of people in this parable desired the very same thing however only one group was allowed access to the wedding banquet. At the midnight cry I do not want to here the words “ I tell you the truth I do not know you.”
Is your lamp trimmed and ready? God’s word can fill it. His love can supply all the oil your life will ever require. Raise your trimmed lamps high and praise God for His faithful promises and His endless love.
3 comments:
Hey Robin. This is just so wild. I've got to share this with you. About a week ago, I received a forward email from a friend and it was the one in which a soldier in a country that doesn't allow the Bible read his Bible through a deck of cards. I don't remember it all but like the 4 stands for the four Gospels, etc. The ten stood for the ten virgins. I emailed another friend to ask her what this was referencing...she asked for the scripture and I said I don't have it. So, I never got my answer...until today.
Low and behold, you had it. This just blows my mind. I had totally forgotten about the ten virgins and had put the curiosity out of my mind. I typically search things on biblegateway.com but the search produced so many results that I didn't have time to go back.
Thanks so much for sharing this...goes to show how the Lord answers our inquiries even when we feel we've let them go.
As I read this scripture, I felt so bad for the five foolish. I just knew how the story was going to end...with them unprepared. How heart breaking to hear "I don't know you."
I too want to be prepared and have the door opened.
I've loved being in Rachel's Bible study as it has opened my desire greatly for the OT. Are you in it?
Come see me today. I'm posting a great piece on patience. I was amazed how when I began to just scribbled some thoughts yesterday that it all just flowed out of me and I thought "man this is good". I know it's only by the power of God.
In His Grasp,
I love it Robin and needed this today.
Robin,
I never can remember who've I've come across via Rachel's blog or not. Rachel Olsen is a Proverb 31 Ministries writer for their devotionals online. I receive their daily online devo and came across this. Honestly, I don't even know how but praise God I did. It is amazing. I have learned so much. What it is, is one day she gives us scripture to read on a woman of the Bible. We read it, post that we read it (for accountability), and then a day or two later, Rachel gives her account/understanding of the scripture. Then we all give our comments on what we learned, understand, didn't understand. (She wants us to wait and digest the Word before posting a comment.) It has really grown. Sometimes on the days that we are only supposed to post an "I read it" we will also share prayer concerns. It is just wonderful.
Go to rachelolsen.blogspot.com.
Read with us over the Shulamite woman and then in your time go back to the beginning. It is a lot to catch up on but it is so worth it to read the scriptures, read Rachel's discussion, and then read everyone's comments. The comments are very diverse and as I said many have shared their life in detail for prayer concerns and just giving their testimony. It is such an aid. One week, there were so many people that touched on having miscarriages, wanting children, having a closed womb...it was the week we discussed Sarah. It's just amazing how everyone has shared and others have been able to connect and not feel so alone in their particular trial.
We've discussed Eve, Sarah, Rachel, Leah, Rebekah, Potiphar's wife, Deborah, Jael, Tamar, Abigail, Esther. When we talked about Abigail and Nahal everyone shared about their Nahal or that they didn't have a Nahal but rather a David.
Come join us and I strongly encourage you in your spare time to go back to the very beginning and catch up...you'll be SOOOOOO blessed. It started March 8 so click on her March archives.
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