There’s so much happening around us every day. And sometimes we feel as if we are just moving from one crisis situation to the next. It can all feel utterly overwhelming at times. However, through it all, we need to keep a rock-solid focus because as believers, we know that we are truly standing in the 11th hour now. Jesus is coming soon! Are you ready?
Jesus warned us to be ready for His return. In Matthew 25: 1 – 13 we see this in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!‘ “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.’
“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.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
ARE YOU READY?
Something that really sticks out in this parable is that all the virgins had lamps and outwardly they all looked the same. However, they were not the same because although they all had lamps, only 5 of them had oil for their lamps (Matthew 25:3).
Often in the Bible oil is used to represent the Holy Spirit. So in this parable, Jesus is making a distinction between true believers who have put their faith in Him and received His forgiveness for their sins and those who have not. And those who have accepted Jesus by faith are filled with His Spirit (as illustrated by oil in the parable). These people Jesus knows because His Spirit lives in them.
HAVE YOU PUT YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST?
So it all comes down to salvation and understanding that the only way to be saved is to receive God’s forgiveness of our sins by faith. We can’t try to earn salvation by working for it or trying to live good lives. There is only one way to be saved and that is by receiving Jesus as saviour by faith.
This parable of the 10 virgins hits home hard because no one knows the day or the hour that Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36). Only the Father knows. Therefore, it’s absolutely critical that we come to salvation now before Jesus returns. Because once He returns it’s over and there won’t be more opportunities to be saved. God has given us so much time and so many warnings to receive salvation now. But just like Noah who warned the people around him for many, many years one day the door of the ark was shut, and then the flood came. At that point, it was over and there was no more opportunity to climb onto the ark.
Hebrews 3:15 says
“As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
We have the opportunity now to receive salvation through Jesus by faith. We have this incredible window of grace that makes it freely available to anyone who will receive it. But this window of grace will close one day and then it will be too late.
Ephesians 2:16
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God”.
HOW DO WE PREPARE?
So the main focus we need to have these days is to make sure firstly that we have received Jesus by faith and received His forgiveness for our sins.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE SAVED
Then we need to focus on growing deeper in our relationship with God every day. Let’s fill our hearts and mind with His word. In the days ahead we will desperately need the word and the Holy Spirit to help us stand firm in God. So this is the time now when we need to be investing deeply in our relationship with Jesus. And we need to keep an eternity perspective at all times remembering that we have an eternal inheritance in Christ. It needs to be Jesus above all now and always.
REACH THE LOST
Then we need to make it a priority to reach those around us with the gospel. Time is running short now and we need to pray for opportunities and divine appointments to share the gospel. This is our highest calling in this hour!
(If you are looking for a resource to help you share the gospel then please download the free printable pdf called “Roadmap to Salvation”. It outlines a strategy you can use to share the gospel with all the verses you need to lead someone to Christ).