Matthew 25:1-13

We presume that we have all the time in the world to tend to certain matters. So, we put off dealing with broken relationships, offering a needed word of gratitude or encouragement, learning a skill, replacing a bad habit with a good one, changing careers, deepening our relationship with God, spending time with a child, or faithfully following Christ. There seems to be so many other things that crowd into our time and push out what we say is important to us.

In our parable from Matthew 25, we have some young women who want to be part of a joyous celebration, yet they don’t make it because they were not prepared or ready. Disappointment and shame were their experience. All because the young women did not bring extra oil.

In this allegorical parable Jesus categorizes the women waiting for the celebration to begin as either wise or foolish. We often think that it is sin that keeps us from the celebration of God, but here it is not being wise.

This entire section of Matthew is driving home the point for us to be ready. The day or the hour we do not know when, but we need to be prepared. We will be startled by the shout, but we need to be watchful. This parable also reminds us of what are the consequences of not being ready for the great celebration. Simply put, will the Lord’s appearing find you wise or unwise, prepared or scrambling to get things together?