Hide-and-seek is a popular children’s game in which any number of players will hide themselves, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one player chosen, (designated as being “it”) by closing their eyes and counting to a predestined number while the player who is “it” calls “ready or not, here I come!” or “coming, ready or not!”
This particular children’s game brings to my mind about a parable of Jesus, The Ten Virgins.
A parable is a story told to illustrate a truth. The common description of a parable is that it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus told many parables. There are over 30 parables of Jesus recorded in the Synoptic Gospel. The gospel of John has none.
The parable of the Ten Virgins, is a parable where Jesus answers the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Matthew 25:1, starts the parable about the ten virgins and Jesus is the bridegroom.
Jesus gave this parable to further clarify what it means to be ready for his return.
You know the story. Five virgins were wise and five were foolish. The foolish brought their lamps, but took no oil with them. The five wise ones, brought their lamps with oil in them. At midnight, when the bridegroom came, it was time for the virgins to trim their lamps, but the foolish did not have any oil and the wise only had enough for themselves. While the foolish went out to buy some oil, the bridegroom came and took the wise virgins and CLOSED the door and the foolish was not allowed in.
This applies to us today. God is simply saying, we don’t know when Jesus (the bridegroom) is coming, but we must be ready. Some of us will be like the foolish, that brought their lamp without oil. The oil is symbolic of the Spirit of God. That means, you are either filled with the Holy Spirit or you are not. You have some that confessed to be Jesus’ children, but they are not. You know them, but you may not really know who’s children they belong to. Some of them attend church every Sunday. Some may sit in the pulpit. Some pastor’s churches. Some sing in the choir. Some may sit on the Executive Board. Some, maybe a top dog that sits on the Trustee Board. But, nevertheless, whatever position that they hold in the church, if they haven’t given themselves to the CHURCH, that’s Jesus Christ, they do not have any oil in their lamps. Simply put, they do not have the Spirit of God in them. They are phonies. They will be the foolish virgins. The foolish virgins, in this parable, were “left behind”, when the bridegroom returned.
The wise virgins, not only did they bring their lamps, they brought their oil. Those with the oil, are filled with God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit. They were ready for Jesus when he came.
Jesus reminds us of many things, but one that should stand out is that He knows His sheeps and He calls them by name.
Be ye always ready, because we don’t know when He is coming back. Our Bible says that He will come like a thief in the night. He closes this parable by reminding us that we need to always be prepared for His return, because we do not know “the day nor the hour," the year nor the century, that He is coming.
When Jesus returns to take us to heaven, we must be ready. Spiritual preparation cannot be bought or borrowed. No, your money will not do you any good. You will not be able to purchase a ticket for an entry into heaven. Our relationship with God is a personal one. We will not be able to ride into heaven on the skirt-tails of our mothers or grandmothers. We will have to know God for ourselves, accept Him for who He is and believe with our hearts of heart, that He would do what He said that He would do. We simply must believe.
Are you watching? Are you ready? HE IS COMING!