Matthew 25:3-4, “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
In just a few short weeks we are scheduled to gather together for our Annual Meeting and Communion at Union Grove. It’s been one full year since the Church met for Communion and the memories of the Church with visitors of like faith and order participating in the ordinance are sweet. Yet this is a new time. A new time in which we should be laboring to prepare ourselves with the anticipation of fellowshipping with Jesus Christ our Savior.
In our study verse we read about the Lord teaching His disciples about the very subject of preparing for fellowship. The disciples had asked the Lord three questions in Matthew 24:3 and the Parable of the Ten Virgins was part of His answers. In this Parable, they as well as the Lord’s people throughout the generations, should be reminded of the importance of preparation. The Parable, which is about ten virgins (not five virgins (emblem of purity) and five adulterous women), tells of ten born again children of God. Five of the ten were wise and five were foolish. The wise prepared themselves and were ready to meet the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and the foolish did not. The foolish, by not being prepared, missed out on the time of visitation.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the parable, which has an immediate interpretation concerning those of that day, also finds application with us today. Do we make ourselves ready and labor to prepare ourselves for the times when the Lord comes to fellowship with His children? Are we praying, reading our Bibles, and making arrangements to be present at the House of the Lord? Are we living a life of repentance and cleansing ourselves from the world (Acts 3:19; Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-16; James 4:4)? Or are we so foolish as to not prepare ourselves, causing us to miss out on the greatest blessings this side of heaven? According to Matthew 25:12, each time of visitation is for that time. We can prepare for the next time, but if we miss, that time of fellowship is lost. Do we want to hear about the children of God enjoying the presence of the Lord, or do we want to be there when He comes to commune with His precious little sheep? Lord willing, my hope is to be there with a prayerful anticipation of Him being willing to fellowship with us.