Leiper's Fork church of Christ

In MATTHEW 25:1-13,we find Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins. “Then shall the kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went froth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish too their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those vrigins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Con- sider with me some lessons from this parable.1.The bridegroom cometh. Just a short time before Jesus told these parables He listed some signs of the impending destruction of Jerusalem. However, there were to be no—repeat no—signs of His return, but the need of constant vigilance and preparedness for His return. He states in MATTHEW 24:36,”But of that day and hour knoweth no man...”  The wedding feast upon which the parable focused was quite unlike weddings in our culture. The bridegroom might bring the bride to the feast without giving any warning as to the time, so it was not unusual for some to be un-prepared for his coming. It was not a matter of “if” he would come, but “when” he would come. The same is true concerning our Lord. While we know that Jesus is coming, we know neither “the day or the hour of His coming.” When the day of His coming arrives, it will be too late to make preparation. Five young maidens were ready; five were not. 2.Some things cannot be borrowed.While some were prepared, some were not. Five of the young maidens had not brought enough oil for their lamps and sought to borrow from the others. But the principle of GALATIANS 6:5, “Every man shall bear his own burden” demands that each person make his or her own preparation. You can-not borrow another person’s integrity, Bible know-ledge, wisdom, respect or their preparedness to meet their God in judgment.Paul instructs us in ROMANS 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” I cannot stand in judgment in my children’s stead, nor can they take the place of their children. Each of us must be ready. Unfortunately, many are playing a form of eternal “Russian roulette” with their own soul. I have heard some say, “I’m just going to live the best way I know how, and then take my chances that God is merciful.” The lesson in this parable is that God’s mercy and grace will not overlook one’s failure to prepare for His coming. What about you; are you ready? 3.The door was shut. Another perspective of the ancient wedding feast was the fact that often those who were not present and on time for the feast were not invited to participate in the feast. He accurately reflected the custom of that day. It was not an accident or a coincidence that Jesus climaxed the parable with the words, “and the door was shut.,” for He also made a touching point concerning God’s viewpoint of our life. This earth is not our ultimate home, but a pilgrimage, merely a temporary place of abode. The Bible speaks often of our “hope of eternal life”. Read TITUS 1:2, JOHN 6:68,I PETER 1:4, but even this hope must be understood in light of this principle of Jesus, “the door was shut.” Some day that door will be shut. Some day it will be too late to get ready for Jesus’ return. There will be no warning. Peter tells us in II PETER 3:10, “For the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...”. We read in GENESIS 7:16, Noah and his family entered the ark, having made the preparation Gods instructed them to make, “and the Lord shut him in.” All the rest of humanity perished in the flood. They had been warned, but refused to believe and prepare. When the door to the ark was shut, it was too late. Any and all time of preparation for them was gone.   Some, known as the universalist place all their hope in the belief that God will ultimately relent, saving everyone, even those who have for years, ignored their responsibility to God and others. But, as we are told in I SAMUEL 16:7, “The Lord seeth not as man seeth”, and as we are told in TITUS 1:2, God, “cannot lie”. For God to ignore the mandates written by His inspired writers would be the ultimate injustice, yet God is the essence of justice as we see in DEUTERONOMY 32:4. There Moses records, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” No, God is not going to relent and just “save everybody” out of His grace, but all will be “judged according to their works,” as John tells us in REVELATION 20:13.Others are waiting for a “more convenient sea-son,” as the case was with Felix in ACTS 24:25.  “My life is just not ready for that,” or “I’m not good enough to become a Christian,” or any number of excuses. When we wait for a more convenient time or occasion we are wasting valuable hours that cannot be recalled. Felix, a Roman governor, heard Paul “reason about righteousness, temperance and the judgment to come,” and when he heard these things he “trembled ” But his heart was not willing to allow the seed of the gospel to take root, so he said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” There is nothing mentioned in the record of Felix ever calling for Paul again. Evidently that “convenient season” never came. Unfortunately for Felix., if that were the case, the door is now shut, and will be for evermore. That is the price one often pays for procrastination. Right now, the door between you and God stands open to your honest obedience to Him. However, you should remember what James tells us about life in JAMES 4:14, “...for what is your life? it is but a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away”. One day the door will be shut in your life. On which side will you be standing? Will you be on the side hearing the words, well done, or will you hear depart from Me?

JOHNNY WEBB