I saw part of a wedding party yesterday. And it got me thinking about how much effort and hope we put into weddings. I'm in the middle of the biggest wedding season of the year, at a time in my life that is when most people get married. EVERYONE is getting married right now. Not a month goes by that another one of my friends ties the knot, and it's often more than one.
But weddings aren't the magic elixir of happiness. They won't cure all of your problems. They won't guarantee a perfect life. There is only 1 wedding that can truly make you happy, and that's the wedding as the bridegroom of Christ.
But just like we would never have our own wedding here on Earth without planning it first, God expects us to put some preparation and effort into the wedding with Christ. We cannot just sit around and wait for Jesus to come back, hoping that we'll be ready when He does. "Keep watch," He says, "because we do not know the day or the hour of His return." We can't just sit around and wait for life to happen, wait for opportunities to experience new things and serve others to just happen. We have to take life by the horns. We have to choose to look for them. I pray that when the Lord comes back, I will not be caught unawares. I want to be ready.
6 “At 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.
But weddings aren't the magic elixir of happiness. They won't cure all of your problems. They won't guarantee a perfect life. There is only 1 wedding that can truly make you happy, and that's the wedding as the bridegroom of Christ.
But just like we would never have our own wedding here on Earth without planning it first, God expects us to put some preparation and effort into the wedding with Christ. We cannot just sit around and wait for Jesus to come back, hoping that we'll be ready when He does. "Keep watch," He says, "because we do not know the day or the hour of His return." We can't just sit around and wait for life to happen, wait for opportunities to experience new things and serve others to just happen. We have to take life by the horns. We have to choose to look for them. I pray that when the Lord comes back, I will not be caught unawares. I want to be ready.
Matthew 25:1-13
1 “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. 6 “At 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.
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