The Parable of the Ten Virgins
My girls and I were doing Bible Study a few weeks back, and we read The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25). It's a short story, yet very important. Let's read it together.
25 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. 6At 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 explained to my girls that the virgins represented us--believers. I explained how one day we will be married to the Lord, and that God is the bridegroom. Isaiah 54:5 says For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven's Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. Then we talked about how the wedding banquet represented Heaven, and that one day, when Jesus returns, He will take all his believers with him to Heaven. Furthermore, we talked for a while about what made the five foolish and what made the other five wise. Let's take a look. Those who were foolish didn't take the groom's coming very seriously. They did not thoroughly prepare for his coming; we see that because they ran out of oil. We talked about the things people do in this world that make them foolish. The girls gave me examples of people who don't acknowledge God, his commands, or take His coming very seriously. They may say they believe, yet, their lives exhibit the opposite of what God commands. They live for themselves, with no regard to God, even though they are aware of his commands. They knowingly choose to disobey God, regardless of what their conscience tells them. This is foolishness.
The wise virgins watched faithfully and expectantly for the bridegroom. They prepared enough oil and believed that he would come, no matter how long they waited. Interestingly, it says that they ALL became drowsy and fell asleep, meaning, they all (the foolish and wise) got tired of waiting. It is normal to forget about Christ's coming when we are busy with life and other things, but as believers, we must be watchful. Be obedient to God and read His word. We must also pray and check ourselves to make sure we are living for Christ. The five wise virgins got to attend the wedding banquet, and the other five did not.
My girls and I talked about faith and how the oil represented faith. I believe the foolish virgins started out with some faith because the Bible says we have all been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). However, they became weary of waiting and decided to do their own thing. I believe that they forgot about the arrival of the bridegroom because it took so long, but also because they spent their time doing things that did not grow their faith. They didn't continue to build their faith like the other wise virgins. Instead, they only depended on the little faith or oil they had. They asked for the others' oil, but had to go get their own oil. This is a good point as we cannot get into Heaven based on someone else's faith. We get into Heaven by our own faith. The wise continued in their faith, and did things that were conducive to their faith. Maybe they sang worship songs, fellowshipped with other believers, stayed in God's Word, followed God's commands (as best they could), and prayed. This kept their faith strong and sustained them until the bridegroom arrived. Maybe the foolish ones partied, drank, became vile, or did their own thing. Maybe they gave their hearts over to other people or things, and forgot about the bridegroom...they did this until it was too late.
This parable always frightens me when I read it, and I hope it always will. I imagine being in the foolish group, and not entering the Kingdom of God. Being a follower of Christ is not easy, but requires time, energy, commitment, faith, endurance, prayer, and more. Sadly, the bridegroom rejected the five foolish virgins because they were not prepared for his arrival. Let us not disregard this story, but evaluate our lives and see which group of virgins we resemble. Are we living life our way and neglecting our faith, or are we continuously building our faith, putting our hope and trust in God, and waiting expectantly for his return? Let us take a moment to think about this, and pray.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this story and message, as well as for those reading. We see in this story that there were five foolish and five wise virgins. Help us to adapt the qualities of the five wise virgins so that we may prepare and be ready for Christ's return. Let us not slip into the ways of the world, forgetting Christ and neglecting our faith. We've all been given a measure of faith, but You've given us free will. It is our choice to build our faith, or to let our faith go. Lord, I pray that you will keep us on the straight and narrow. Do not let us wander off too far, or get comfortable with life without you. Help us do things to strengthen our faith so that we will not be left behind. We know that no one knows the day or hour, not even Jesus (Matthew 24:36), so we must wait expectantly. Build our faith because we cannot use or rely on the faith of others. You have created Heaven for all children of God. Forgive us if we have forgotten you and lived for ourselves. Forgive us for taking our eyes off you and giving our hearts to other things. Take our hands and guide us on this journey of faith. You are powerful, loving and faithful, and we praise you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Prayerfully,
Pam
