Generally speaking, we typically fall into one of two categories when it comes to packing: the minimalist light packer who prides herself in packing only the bare minimum and nothing that would take up unnecessary space, and the packer who brings essentially everything he owns, just in case he might need it. They’re easy to spot in the airport, since one has either a backpack or small carry-on, while the other is stumbling along, looking as if he’s carrying enough luggage for a small family.
Regardless of which of those two types of traveler you are, no one likes feeling unprepared. Whether we’re light or heavy packers, we still feel prepared as long as we have everything we think we’ll end up needing.
What we can’t anticipate, however, is whether or not everything will go according to plan. Delayed or cancelled flights, missed layovers, lost luggage, reservation issues with car rentals or accommodations – there’s a lot that can go wrong!
The women in Jesus’ parable who were waiting for the bridegroom found that out, too. They undoubtedly thought they were prepared… until the bridegroom took longer than expected in arriving. Then, five of the women without extra oil found out how unprepared they were. On the other hand, five of the ten had anticipated that might be the case, since they brought extra oil for their lamps for just such an occasion. They were actually prepared. They were ready. As a result, they got to experience the wedding banquet with the bridegroom once he arrived.
The story didn’t end so well for the five who ran out of oil. They were not prepared. They were not ready. So, when the time came to accompany the bridegroom to the banquet, they were in the dark. They were out of oil. Then, by the time they caught up after having to find oil to fill up their lamps, it was too late. The door to the wedding banquet had already been shut and guests were no longer being admitted. They unexpectedly found themselves shut out of the party.
Doesn’t this parable sound like the kind of warning that would be directed more toward those who are at home sleeping in on a Sunday morning, or out and about, or prioritizing other things in life before worship? Does this parable really have anything to say to those who are active in their Christian faith and engaged in their churches?
Yes it does. First, heed Jesus’ warning for watchfulness in your own heart. Second, sound the warning for others before it’s too late.
If you are active in your faith right now, how far back do you have to go to a time when you weren’t? Each of us has so many different stories about how we got to where we are today in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Some of us have always only known and believed in Jesus. We were brought up in believing homes with Jesus-loving parents – possibly even pastors or teachers in the church – who made sure that Sunday mornings were spent in church hearing about God’s love for us in Jesus, and it’s stuck with us every day since.
But those stories among us are more likely the exception than the rule. More of us probably have stories that look more like the tangled up ball of Christmas lights we’re looking forward to unraveling after Thanksgiving. Our stories are a little messier, perhaps a little bit of religion here and some wandering there and a whole lot of back and forth for many years. Some who are newer to life with Jesus all together and know a whole lot more mess in their life and are still fresh in their discovery of how sweet Jesus makes life.
So realize by looking back on your life that just because you’re where you are now is no guarantee of where you’ll be in the future if you’re not continuing to keep watch.
As the weather cools just a bit and mornings and evenings make it nice to get comfortable and cozy, don’t ever fall into the trap of getting comfortable with your faith. As Jesus’ parable showed, it can lead to spiritual drowsiness and leave you unprepared.
Yes, you might believe you’re ready, but so did the five virgins waiting for the bridegroom. They were in the right place, but they still weren’t prepared. You can be in the right place, even doing the right things, but still not be prepared for Jesus’ return.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day are a great example of this. They were in the right place, doing the right things, but for the wrong reason. They weren’t prepared. Their hearts were hollow. They weren’t filled with faith. Rather than living thankfully out of gratitude for the forgiveness and salvation Jesus freely gives, their lives were auditions, lived in expectation that their performances would be more than adequate to cast them in at least some role in heaven. Their lives were pretend, not lived in genuine faith.
Similarly, a person can worship, can serve, can even give, and all of it can be done in unbelief. There’s certain intrinsic value in each of those things, I suppose. They carry some benefit, depending on what a person is looking for. But if not done in faith, with the desire to grow in that faith, then it is all for naught. It isn’t the pleasing fruit of faith that God desires and grows, but is instead like the plastic fruit bowl displayed on the dining room tables of a furniture showroom.
One of the applications we can draw from Jesus’ parable is the warning that these kinds of dangers are more likely to happen gradually than they are suddenly. In verse five, Jesus made the point, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” Do not suppose, then, that these dangers are only sudden and immediate. They come over time as we let our guard down.
In our congregation, we’ve been a little more intentional about paying attention to those who have been missing out on worship for three+ months, and there are some consistent findings. Guess who’s most likely to be absent from worship for three months? Those who have missed for two months. Guess who’s most likely to miss worship for two months? Those who have missed worship for one month. Neglecting worship becomes so much easier when we allow it to become a pattern.
So don’t. Be in God’s house every week. Be here several times a month. Don’t let one Sunday turn to two, and then three, and low and behold, four months later you haven’t been to church. That’s not being watchful. That’s not being ready. That’s begging to find yourself out of oil when the bridegroom comes.
While Jesus’ parable deals with those who had some sense and some expectation of the bridegroom’s arrival, how much more urgent is the warning to those not anticipating the bridegroom’s arrival, let alone aware of the bridegroom or the banquet at all in the first place? How many more either through ignorance or indifference have no “save the date” card for Jesus’ return stuck to their fridge? How many don’t know anything at all or know so very little about Jesus’ first coming that they may not have even a slight clue about his second, when he returns on the last day?
Yes, there is surely a place for those gathered in local congregations to look out for each other and make sure they don’t run out of oil before the end, but what of all those who have no lamps and no oil at all? Who will warn them to be ready, to be watching, to be prepared? While we may be wide awake as to our own salvation, do we need a wake-up call to the urgency of warning the lost and the lukewarm all around us? Are we OK being surrounded but the spiritual dead and condemned to hell or can we all detach from our devices for a moment here and there and have a conversation about Christ? Can we alert others to the impending arrival of the bridegroom?
Remember, you have been forgiven, redeemed, and saved for a purpose, and that purpose is not limited to just the joy of the banquet in heaven; that purpose also includes the joy of bringing more wedding guests along with you.
You have been forgiven so that you can forgive others.
You have been redeemed so that you can pronounce redemption to others.
You have been saved so you can point others to their Savior.
By God’s grace, your lamp has been filled with oil; tell others where to fill up their lamps with oil so that they, too, are ready.
We’re ready for the bridegroom when we continue to make sure our lamps are filled with oil. We don’t ever get to the point of “it’s good enough” with our faith, but we want a growing faith, always filling the lamp with more oil.
Suppose an absurdly wealthy individual who was feeling particularly generous came to you and wanted to write you a check. You only had to name the amount and he would write the check out to you. However, after you gave him the first amount, he said, “more.” So you gave him a bigger number. Again he said “more.” You then gave him a number with a whole bunch of zeros after it. Still he said “more.” How long do you think this would go on before you’d get sick of him saying “more” each time? I don’t know about you, but I would welcome the opportunity to find out!
May we have the same attitude regarding our faith in Jesus. “More.” Never “good enough” or “sufficient,” but always “more.” Trust me, your lamps can hold a lot more oil, so fill them up with more Jesus, more faith. Don’t hold back in asking God for more – he’ll give it eagerly! What Jesus secured for you and me and everyone else with his perfect life of obedience and his death on the cross is more than we could ever exhaust – but let’s at least try to find out!
Fill your lamp with faith. Then fill it up with more, and you’ll be ready. You’ll be watchful. You’ll be like a giddy child, prepared to go with your Savior to the place he has prepared for us when he comes on that Last Day.