Are we ready for the return of Jesus Christ? Are we prepared for the day when He will split the sky and the trumpets will sound? Ask yourself, "Am I ready?". The day will come when Jesus will return. He said "behold I come quickly" ( Revelations 22:7). Before that day comes, we should prepare ourselves for His return.
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 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.’ 10 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.11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matthew 25:1-13 (NKJV)
In the verses above, it talks about the ten virgins where five were foolish and five were wise. As the wise virgins went out to meet the bridegroom, they took extra oil along with their lamps while the foolish ones didn't. The wise virgins had their oil, their intimacy with Christ. They were prepared by the time that they spent with God. Their relationship with Him was their first priority. As their intimacy grew with God, they were able to fuel their lamps, they were able to let their light shine before men (Matthew 5:14-16). As they spent time with God, wherever they went, people saw Christ in and through them.
Does our relationship with God reflect that of the five wise virgins? Knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection is the ultimate. Do we have oil in our vessels? Is our light shining before men?
The foolish virgins were the opposite of the wise ones. They had their lamps, their good works were being seen before men but in the secret, they had no oil, they had no intimacy with Christ. They were showing forth their light without any desire or relationship. Their relationship was not going anywhere. We don't want to live in a place where we are stagnant, where we are not moving in our spiritual lives.
The bridegroom came at an unexpected time. He came at midnight. At midnight, most people are sleeping and one would not expect a big event to happen at that time on a normal day. He came at a time when people wouldn't think he would come. It was a surprise to many as the foolish virgins rushed to buy oil. The same way that we have to be prepared for a hurricane or an earthquake, we should also be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ.
When the foolish virgins returned, they tried to enter into the wedding but the bridegroom said to them "I do not know you". It is a hard thing to hear those words. Jesus said that those who enter the kingdom are those who do the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21-23).
We should watch and prepare ourselves because we do not know the time or the hour when Jesus will return. When the marriage of the Lamb comes, the bride will make herself ready (Revelations 19:7-9). Let us prepare for His return.
