Remember the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins? When the bridegroom came, 5 were unprepared and
In the culture of Jesus' day, the groom went to the bride's home for the wedding ceremony and then led a procession back to his home for a grand banquet that evening. The bridesmaids were responsible for lighting the way for the wedding party. They were to come prepared with their lamps and oil for fuel. But Jesus introduces a ludicrous element to the story. Instead of being prepared, half of the bridesmaids came without any oil for their lamps. Listen to how Jesus tells the story:
"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' '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.'" (Matthew 25:7-9).
The foolish bridesmaids thought that the ones who had come prepared should make up for their irresponsible behavior. They wanted them to give up part of the oil they had brought, and thought they were mean for not doing so - even though it would have meant that there would not have been enough oil for anyone, and the wedding party would have had to walk part of the way in the dark.
But Jesus' point in telling the story is that this is what it will be like when Jesus returns for his bride, the church. We are to be ready. We are not to depend on someone else. We cannot ride the coat tails of someone else's spirituality. We can't stand around thinking that Jesus won't really demand this kind of obedience from us. We cannot put off till tomorrow what we know should be done today. We must take responsibility for our own lives and be ready. No one can do it for us. We won't be able to blame anyone else, for the Bible says, "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). It also says, "Each one should carry his own load" (Galatians 6:5).
