“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” – Matthew 25:13 (ESV)
There is something confronting about the story Jesus tells of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom.
All ten were invited.
All ten were waiting.
All ten had lamps.
And eventually, all ten became tired and fell asleep.
The difference was not that five were perfect Christians who never became distracted, tired or weary. The difference was much simpler.
Five had prepared for the wait.
They had oil.
I think sometimes we imagine being ready for Jesus as constantly looking towards the sky, wondering whether today might be the day. We can turn readiness into anxiety, watching world events and trying to work out where we are on some prophetic timeline.
But I wonder if Jesus was pointing us towards something much closer to home.
What is in my lamp?
If the Bridegroom came today, would He find someone who had been walking with Him already?
Not perfectly.
Not without distraction.
Not without days when prayer has been difficult or my mind has wandered halfway through reading Scripture.
But someone who knows Him.
Someone who has been learning His voice.
Someone who has been allowing Him to change the hidden places of his life.
Someone who has kept returning.
The foolish virgins tried to prepare when they heard the announcement.
“Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” – Matthew 25:6 (ESV)
Suddenly the lamps mattered.
Suddenly the oil mattered.
Suddenly preparation mattered.
But readiness cannot always be manufactured in the moment we finally realise we need it.
There are things God forms in us slowly.
Trust.
Character.
Faithfulness.
A life of prayer.
A heart that recognises His presence.
Oil accumulated through ordinary days of walking with Jesus when nobody else is watching.
And perhaps that is what challenges me most about this parable.
I do not want to merely believe that Jesus is coming.
I want to live as though I am expecting Him.
There is a difference.
Expectation changes how I use today.
It changes what I hold onto and what I am willing to release. It changes how seriously I take forgiveness, generosity, obedience and the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit.
It makes me ask a different question.
Not, “When is Jesus coming?”
But, “If He came today, what would He find me doing?”
Maybe readiness is not frantic preparation.
Maybe it is simply keeping the lamp burning.
Walking with Him today.
Returning when I wander.
Listening when He speaks.
Serving when He asks.
Loving the people He places in front of me.
And trusting that when the cry eventually comes, “Here is the bridegroom,” I will not need to suddenly begin looking for Jesus.
I will already know Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I do not know the day or the hour of Your return, but I want to live ready for You. Keep oil in my lamp. Draw me into a deeper relationship with You, not because I am afraid of Your coming, but because I long for it. When I become distracted, call me back. When I grow tired, sustain me. Shape my life in the ordinary days so that whenever the Bridegroom comes, my heart will recognise the One I have already been walking with.
Amen.