Matthew 25:10 NIV
[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.
Stay Ready So You Won't Have To Get Ready:
Growing up was so much fun! We had zero worries and enough time on our hands with little or nothing to do to solve our own challenges if we ever had any.
One time in 1990's a friend at the opposite house invited my sister and i to their wedding where we played flower girls. Good heavens! Our joy knew no bounds. I couldn't tell who was more excited between my elder sis and i.
We were told to be early so as not to miss church service, that day i saw my elder sister who was late for almost everything arrive many hours before the commencement of the event.
A day before,she did her house chores and the next morning as early as 5am(very unsual cause my mom has to shout before she does it on a normal day) she took out the trash. We had to be of our best behaviour all week so Mom doesn't change her mind about us going all together.
We didn't bother with breakfast that morning cause we were super excited for the role, we couldn't wait to pepper our neighbours who weren't invited and of course to show off our outfits and flower bowls. The moment it struck 6am we were out of the house and at theirs. We arrived earlier than some of the cooks catering for the event. So early that we had to assist them before the time came for us to leave.
Our ability to prepare a day before made us early enough to rehearse our songs ahead of reception even.
This is how early,fully prepared and excited God wants us to be for the arrival of his kingdom.
I can't recount how many times i heard my high-school teachers use this phrase during exams *If you fail to plan, you plan to fail*
The parable of the 10 virgins is one parable told out of so many about the arrival of God's kingdom on earth and what our part in it should be.
You know how lackadaisical you are on certain days of the week because you know the boss isn't coming to work that day? Or how playful and forgetful you get with your duties in the morning because Madam doesn't show up till 2 pm? Yes i know cause i have been on both ends of the rope myself.
When she finally shows up you wonder why she yells at you for not doing the job she pays you to do? You even call him/her a toxic boss.
Your response would be sorry ma when in reality you thought you had more time before her arrival, you didn't know she was going to come in earlier than expected? What if i told you the reason you haven't had your own firm isn't only because you can't afford it but how you treat/treated someone else's?
In the case of these virgins who each had lamps,the Bible said five of them(wise virgins)were prepared with enough oil in their lamp, while the other five were not. See the foolish ones without extra oil thought the master would arrive at their own timing, they thought time was on their hands and that last minute planning was allowed, they got preoccupied with the cares of life that they forgot to prepare for the reason for their existence. They assumed the knowledge they had was sufficient, they didn't need to study more, their relationship with the Holy Spirit was better the way it was(once weekly at Sunday service) so they didn't need a one-on-one fellowship afterwards. They didn't think it was important to open their bible after sunday service because pastor has said it all what can i possibly top to that?
These virgins were so delusional enough to think they could borrow someone else's oil(Grace)like it was a coupon, they think saying amen to the prayers of a devoted consecrated believer was all they needed for the Kingdom of God to come into their lives.
If wishes were horses even paupers would ride.
Jesus made it his mission to prepare his disciples for times ahead, even down to his betrayal by Peter and Judas. Jesus didn't leave his ministry to spontaneity hence he told so many parables and performed many signs just to get them ready for what was to come.
No sluggard or straggler is fit for the kindgom of God. If all you do is the barest minimum yet expecting heaven to come knocking on your doorstep then you're unfit for the kingdom.
You ought to be ready for when the king passes by(opportunities), you don't know when that would be, but at all times you should be ready. It's better to be earlier than the appointed time than to be late. Ecclesiastes speaks about time(preparing ahead)and chance(opportunity) happening to them all.
In today's scripture the foolish virgins got locked out of an opportunity they had been praying fervently for due to negligence on their part. This is to say prayer is not enough brethrens. Faith(prayer)without works is dead.
We live in the world of i tap into your grace Sir, i claim it Ma, this is why we fall for hyper-Grace teachings. We never want to be accountable for anything yet the list of things we expect from God is longer than that of a boarding school student trying to outsmart their parents.
If your amen will thunder kind of people, Christians who want to be spoon-fed never wanting to grow up so they hire prayer contractors to do their work. I even heard they pay people to fast for them now? Hilarious (i laugh in Swahili) Yet you wonder why your waiting season has turned to endurance trek? With no sign of it ending soon?
We need to do better as Christians i tell you. We need to uphold a particular standard of living in this faith-based life. We can't leave everything to serendipity. The bible says you receive not because you asketh not but how do you ask when you have no clue what is in his will for you? How do you even know what is in his will for you if you fail to sit at his feet?
Only God prepares you for the coming of his kingdom but how would you know if you don't have the spirit in you?
Only those who are prepared would inherit the promise and no it's not a curse, that's what your bible says. Only those who devotes their time in getting to know more about God's modus operandi on this earth would be given the responsibility of dominating and influencing it.
Jesus passes the baton to people who are able to do his will not just those who are willing(we spoke extensively about this in the last 2 episodes.)
When you see someone doing great exploits all of a sudden you begin to envy them but behind that man's success is a harsh season of persecution that you know nothing about.
Self-discipline, discretion, discernment, effective time management, devotion, impeccable communication skills, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, self-awarness, selflessness,submission to unfavourable seasons to mention a few are the requirements needed for God's kingdom purpose on earth. It takes work to cultivate these characters not just amen pastor and sowing a seed on the results of someone's hardwork thinking it'll earn you yours.
It is my prayer for us all that we would be like the 5 wise virgins who tirelessly did the work with little or no appraisals,away from the spot light, burnt midnight candles, soaked up their pillows with tears yet woke up the next day choosing to trust God's will.
I pray we wouldn't mind tarrying with Christ and getting our hands in the mud with him if possible just to be carriers of the Kingdom assignment mantles.
We never know when an opportunity would come knocking so we have to be ready at all times
Shalom!
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