Ready and Waiting? by Steve Keeler
Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus is telling a story about ten virgins who are like
bridesmaids at a wedding. In order to make sense of
Jesus' story, we need to understand a bit about Jewish
wedding customs.
Traditionally, the groom would leave from his house
and travel, after sun-down to the bride's home, and
then he would take the bride back to his house, where
the ceremonies and celebrations would continue for a
couple of days.
The ten virgins in this story would be waiting outside
the bride's home for the arrival of the groom but
would not know exactly at what hour he would arrive.
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten
virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were
prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they
took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks
along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was
delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at
midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him.'
Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your
oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent
answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you
too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for
yourselves.' And while they were going away to make
the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who
were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and
the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came,
saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' But he answered,
'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' Be on the alert
then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
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Procrastination. It's a universal part of the human
experience isn't it? We put off doing the things we're
supposed to be doing because we figure we have time
to get to it later. Some people seem like professional
procrastinators.
For some reason, when we think we have lots of time,
it creates in us a feeling of laziness and a bad habit
that can be hard to snap out of when it is time to get
busy again.
Jesus lived and walked this earth about 2000 years
ago. That's a long time ago.
When He was on the earth, one of the things He talked
about with those who were closest to Him was the fact
that he was going to leave them, but then would soon
return again and receive them to Himself, that where
He is, there they may be also.
You find this throughout His teachings in the gospel
and throughout the New Testament.
But another thing that Jesus taught was that no one
really knew when this soon return was going to take
place. And so, for 2000 years now, believers have
been in the difficult position of having to live life as if
Jesus might return at any moment, and yet with each
passing year having the knowledge that it's been
another year and He still hasn't returned.
My Grandfather was a preacher and my Mother was a
church planter so since I was a young boy I've been
hearing people say that Jesus is coming back any day.
You've got to be ready. I'm sure that those of you who
are older than me have heard such statements for
much longer.
History shows that for 2000 years people have looked
at what is going on and felt sure that the 2nd coming of
Christ was imminent.
This waiting can make people grow complacent about
the fact that He IS indeed coming back, and it really
could be soon.
Jesus knew this would be difficult for those He walked
the earth with, as well as for those of us who would
follow thousands of years later. And He told stories or
parables to help us think through the way we should
live our lives in the light of His mysteriously long
absence.
His point which He makes throughout these stories, is
that people need to be living as if they are ready and
waiting for His return.
If you have your Bible with you please turn with me
Matthew 24. Context: In this entire chapter Jesus has
given some of the "signs of the times" when the end
would come.
Matthew 24:42-51
"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which
day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the
head of the house had known at what time of the night
the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert
and would not have allowed his house to be broken
into.
For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of
Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He
will.
Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his
master put in charge of his household to give them
their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing
when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him
in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave
says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long
time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and
drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come
on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour
which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
One thing that's becoming clear in our first Scripture
and this one is that Jesus' parables are definitely not
predictable. They often end with something tragic
happening. Neither of these stories has much of a
"happy ending" do they?
In the first parable, the wicked servant is cut to pieces,
and in this second story, the unprepared virgins are
shut out of the party. What is Jesus getting at?
Here it is in a nutshell, all people should live in
readiness for the end to come.
Whether it is with the triumphant return of Christ, or
whether through a sudden death, the end will come
suddenly. It is important that each of us live our life in a
way that we're ready to meet our Master at any
moment.
Putting on a show for others or looking "spiritual" on the
outside will not do. See those five foolish virgins they
were hanging out with the other five. They had a lamp
but that lamp did not have an ample supply of oil so
they tried to see if they could borrow some fuel from
one of their friends but they couldn't.
If you are hoping that somehow God will accept you
because you are hanging around with Christ followers,
or because you're coming to church, the story of the
virgins should make you rethink your position.
If you are living life as if you have lots of time to get to
the "spiritual stuff" later, you need to take warning from
that first story about what happens to the servant who
was not attending to the master's business.
I remember witnessing to a good friend as a teenager
and trying to convince him to turn his life over to Christ,
but he just wasn't ready to do so YET. His attitude was,
"I'm going to have some fun first then when I'm older
I'll get serious about following God."
Living for the pleasures this life has to offer and
planning on getting around to the whole God thing later
is not worth risking the loss of eternity in heaven.
The most dangerous lie is not "There is no God", not
"there is no hell"; but the most dangerous lie of Satan
is "there is no hurry."
What does it mean to be ready and waiting?
It means you become a follower of Christ you
actually "get your torch" so that you can come to the
wedding feast which is promised at the end of all
things.
You keep your stock of "oil" for your lamp by following
God's ways 24/7. Keeping yourself from evil influences.
Actively loving your neighbors. Choosing to say no to
temptations. Making your relationship with Christ and
other Christ-followers a high priority in your life.
Perhaps years ago you felt "on fire" for God. You were
serving. You had a healthy fear of the Lord. You
wanted to be found actively serving if your master
suddenly returned.
But life has happened, and now serving the Master
takes a distant third or fourth place to other priorities in
your life. What would the Master say to you if He
returned today and saw you living the way you're
living?
Perhaps you've been waiting for the right time to come
to God. But you are feeling now the conviction of the
Holy Spirit upon you to submit your life to him now.
Don't delay.
Jesus Christ IS returning. It may or may not be before
you die but the most important thing for you to be
sure of in your life is that you are READY and
WAITING for His return.
I pray you won't be shut out of the wedding feast, but
will enjoy all the blessings your heavenly Father wants
to shower upon you that glorious day. Are you ready
for the wedding feast or are you keeping Him waiting?
Let's pray.
